STATE OF THE REGION AFTER OVER65 YEARS OF OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION, AND & AGENDA FOR A NEW GOVERNMENT

06/05/23

DANIELS O.G

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 2ND NIGER DELTA ALTERNATIVES
CONVERGENCE HELD IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, ON THE 25TH OF APRIL
2023

On April 25, 2023, frontline civil society organisations, socio-cultural
groups, academics, traditional rulers, and individuals drawn from the
Niger Delta states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo,
Imo, Ondo, and Rivers assembled in the city of Port Harcourt for the 2nd
Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence (NDAC) for the purpose of setting a
pan Niger Delta socio-ecological agenda for the new political leadership
at the national and sub national levels that would be sworn-in on May 29th 2023.

The convergence discussed the state of the region after over
65 years of oil and gas exploration, and what the Niger Delta peoples
must do to immediately regain its dignity and rebuild the devastated
region.

The Convergence, was chaired by His Royal Majesty, Suanu Baridam, and
had a Keynote titled Looking Back and Thinking Forward: Imperatives of a
New Niger Delta Agenda delivered by Professor Sofiri Peterside of the
University of Port Harcourt, a panel discussion of experts, and several
interventions by notable persons and interest groups in the region. The
gathering thoroughly examined the critical issues facing the region, as
well as the opportunities, and strategies for addressing them.

OBSERVATIONS
The NDAC observed that the major multinational oil companies that have
operated in the Niger Delta region for the last 6 decades are driving a
divestment programme that has seen the companies clandestinely sell off
their onshore and shallow water assets in the region, while claiming
that they are doing so due to the ‘hostile operational environment and
associated huge operational cost” they are exposed to in the Niger Delta
region. The Convergence observed that this position is not only
misleading, but is also false. Even more worrisome is the fact that the
current divestment process is shrouded in secrecy and is being conducted
without the knowledge or participation of the so-called ‘host
communities’ whose traditional territories these companies have occupied
for more than six decades. These companies are not only divesting; they
are also abandoning derelict facilities and decades of problematic
relationships developed with oil-bearing communities.

The startling reality is that the Niger Delta has become an ecological
wasteland, considerably ravaged by the heedless pollution associated
with multi-national oil companies’ activities. The Convergence notes
that the contamination of soil, air, and water has resulted in the
poisoning of the inhabitants of the region, which has resulted in an
alarming increase in illnesses and a drop in life expectancy
considerably below the national average. Oil companies are divesting in
a bid to flee the climate justice imperative of their reckless actions
in the last 65 years.

The NDAC also observed that while Nigeria has intensified the
exploration and export of liquefied natural gas, the hazardous and
poisonous practice of gas flaring continues unabated and without any
clear position on when it will end. The NDAC notes with sadness that the
target for ending gas flaring has consistently been moved at least 8
times in the past. At the moment, all deadlines to end the practice have
been abandoned, while oil companies continue to impact the health and
livelihoods of the Niger Delta people through flaring.

The Convergence equally observed that despite the accrual of significant
financial resources to the region, including through the 13% derivation
principle, the ecological funds, the