Niger Delta

Amaechi To Oversee UNEP Inspection

Published

16 years ago

December 19, 2009

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has begun its inspection of the polluted communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. A lack of maintenance, oil tapping, and damage to oil infrastructure and facilities over the last 15 years have left the oil-rich region highly polluted.

According to authorities, the findings of the environmental assessment will be used to make recommendations on the appropriate levels of solvency needed to revitalise the land to a condition that is environmentally suitable, on the basis of international standards. UNEP’s final assessment report is expected to be published by end 201 0.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has budgeted $9.5 million for the assessment project, at the request of the Government of Nigeria. The project is being overseen by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

Oil spills officially recorded by the Department of Petroleum Resources, show that between 1976 and 1998, over 2.5 million barrels of oil have been spilled into the Delta environment. Observers have reported that leaking pipelines, running through villages, farms, creeks and rivers in the Niger Delta, are a major source of pollution, sickness and economic ruin for the people of the oil-rich region.

Nigeria’s oil wealth has been exploited for more than 45 years. But while oil companies including Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total, and Elf, have profited from the resource, local communities live with the daily pollution caused by nonstop gas flaring – where the gas associated with oil extraction is burnt off into the atmosphere.

According to the World Bank, by 2002 flaring in the country had contributed more greenhouse gases to the Earth’s atmosphere than all other sources in sub-Saharan Africa combined – and yet this gas is not being used as a fuel. Nobody benefits from the energy it contains. As such, it is a serious but unnecessary contributor to climate change, the impacts of which are already being felt in the region with food insecurity, increasing risk of disease and the rising costs of extreme weather damage.

The particles from the flares fill the air, covering everything with a fine layer of soot. Local people also complain about the roaring noise and the intense heat from the flares. They live and work alongside the flares with no protection.

Farmland polluted by oil is rarely rehabilitated, destroying livelihoods. Fish contaminated by oil cause sickness among the people and further economic ruin as fish stocks decline. Observers say the pollution cleanup rates have been awful and more and more land in the Delta is being destroyed.

There is an equivalent of one Exxon Valdez oil spill in Nigeria oilfields yearly for the past 50 years. These spills emanate from malfunctioning oil well heads and severely corroded and poorly maintained surface pipeline networks that crisscross the area.

However, UNEP holds as its mission to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

Published

14 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.

He disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.

According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready, by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.

“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.

”These are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.

“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone, which are basically operations and welfare issues.

”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.

“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.

As part of his visit, Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.

The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.

Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction

Published

17 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.

According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.

Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.

He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.

He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.

The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.

“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.

He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

Published

17 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.

The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.

“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”

It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.

The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment

The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.

The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.

Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.

The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.

The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.

The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.