Environment
Niger Delta Stakeholders Urge For Action Against Environmental Pollution
Residents of some oil-producing communities in Niger Delta, have called on critical stakeholders to join forces against incessant pollution and violation of the fundamental rights by oil multinational
The residents, who were from Odimodi and Forcados communities in Delta State, were in Benin City, the Edo State capital, , to join the Gelegbene community in Edo, in a meeting with the International Federal of Women Lawyers (FIDA), civil society organisations, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Community Development Foundation (CODAF).
The riverine communities appealed to the environmental activists and women lawyers to intervene and stop environmental pollution, as well as marginalisation and supersession due to the operations of the oil multinationals in their locals.
Narrating their ordeal at the gathering, themed “Niger Delta Legal and Strategic Meeting for Fishery Folks”, facilitated by the CODAF in collaboration with ERA/FoEN, Mrs. Mary Fedigha from Gelegbene lamented that since Dubril Oil company began operations in the area, the environment had been seriously impacted.
She expressed dismay that the fishes the residents used to catch before to make a living, are no more.
“You need to go several miles in search of fish before you catch a few,” she decried.
Fedigha also identified gas flaring in the middle of the community as another danger that the residents are constantly exposed to.
“All the buildings around the gas flaring site are in danger; the heat there is unbearable.
“Despite being an oil-producing community, Gelegbene has no potable water, no hospital, no road. We are benefiting nothing from the oil company,” she said.
Sharing a similar sentiment, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Fred Obi from Odimodi community in Delta, related how he incurred losses, arising from the pollution in the area.
“I have a fishing yard and fish pond. I had my fishing pond at the bank of the river where I had different species of fishes, but when the river overflows it banks, it took away the fishes, so I moved upland to sink a borehole and continued with my fishing ponds, but due to the pollution all my fishes died.
“What we are passing through is like hell on earth in Odimodi community,” Obi said.
Also, Juliet Egbele, from Odimodi community, called the attention of the activists to an impending danger as a result of Trans-Raymond pipeline, whose lifespan, she said, had elapsed.
“There is a pipeline running through the town, called Trans-Raymond; it is a 42-inch transparent pipeline.
“They said the pipe has only a 20-year lifespan; when the pipeline was over 25 years; we wrote to them, but they didn’t respond.
“When it got to 30 years, the pipeline started giving problems. It burst in 2018 on its own due to old age. This incident affected us a lot. it got to an extent that we couldn’t breathe properly.
“We are dying, we breathe in hell, we are dying. They should come and do their clean up properly.
“Though Shell paid the community in 2018 for impact made, they refused to pay individuals for their claims.
“We are appealing to all human rights activists to help us. We can be a host community, without being sick.
“We are battling with sickness as a host community,” she lamented.
Other residents, who corroborated the issue, said the communities had remained the same without tangible development in spite of the oil exploration.
Responding, Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, Barr. Chima Williams, stressed the need for synergy, promising that his organisation would give every necessary support to make sure justice is served to the oil-producing communities
He asserted that he was passionate about their conditions.
On her part, FIDA Chairperson in Edo, Violet Olumese, said the federation was aware of the plight of the communities and would do all that is necessary to give the necessary support.
Earlier, Mr. Benin Richard, Executive Director, CODAF, expressed dismay with the situation, when he visited the Odimodi community, describing it as “devastating and very difficult to comprehend”.
He appealed to FIDA to add the environmental components to their work.
Environment
Waste Recycling: Minister Lauds UNEP, GEF
The Federal Ministry of Environment and National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with some e-waste recyclers have recycled some 300 tonnes of e-waste in Lagos.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, stated this at the closing ceremony of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project on Circular Economy Approaches for the Electronics Sector in Nigeria, held in Lagos
Abdullahi expressed gratitude to UNEP/GEF for the technical and financial support for the project.
He also commended the Lagos State Government for providing the enabling environment for the successful implementation of the project.
Abdullahi said that the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) played critical role for the project.
He said that their effort made it easy to achieve the project target of recycling 300 tonnes of e-waste in the state.
According to the Tide source the minister represented by Mallam Stanley Jonah, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Environmen said that e-waste was one of the fastest growing waste streams globally.
He said that most developing nations have been turned to a dumping ground with the influx of both new and used electrical and electronics.
The minister further noted that e-waste management for most developing countries including Nigeria was primarily handled by the informal sector, who scavenges for valuable material using crude methods.
“They retrieve the economically viable components through dismantling and dispose of the part that is not valuable to them either at open dumpsite or by burning or burying with municipal waste.
“Besides adding harmful element components to the environment, indiscriminate disposal of waste is a lost opportunity for recycling.
“Most solid waste contains some form of recycling materials, including plastics, glass, precious materials and metal.
“This call for concern on the resources efficiency and the attendant problems it poses to human health and the environment,” Abdullahi said.
Also, the Director-General, NESREA, Prof Aliyu Jauro, said that the environmental and health problems associated with e-waste are due to the hazardous material contained in them.
Environment
Committee Scores Self High On Refuse Evacuation
The Port Harcourt City Enviromental Sanitation Committee has given itself a pass mark in refuse evacuation and desilting of drainages in the city.
Chairman of the committee, Sir Christian Mgbamoka, who scored the committee high in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt said within the last two years of operations by the committee, the level of cleaniness in the city has improved tremendously.
“Two years now, well, I think we have made some marks”
He said it was obvious that within the past two years, the level of flooding has reduced in the city and blamed it on the regular desilting of drainages across the city by the committee.
“It is obvious that for the past two years we have been embarking on desilting of of our drainages which has reduced flooding within some critical or very important areas in port Harcourt City.
He said areas such as Dr Peter Odili road, the central bank road including front of the state high courts have been affected positively by the committee’s activities.
Mgbamoka also said regular desilting exercise has been carried out within the Dline areas of the city and mile 3.
He said the committee’s plan was to connect all the areas to the interwoba creek with the view to ensuring the free flow of waters
On the incessant flooding at the mile 1market, Mgbamoka blamed the problem on the designing of the drainages in the area.
He said the committee has interfaced with the ministry of works on the issue, adding that the ministry has promised to look into the issue.
The chairman also said the committee has also partnered with the Rivers State waste management Agency (RiWAMA) on prompt evacuation of refuse.
He commended the mayor of the city Sir Alwell Ihunda for his support, adding without him, the committee would have been left with no achievements.
Mgbamoka also commended some residents of the city for their regular supports to the committee.
He said while some of the residents have been of tremendous helps , others have shown no zeal in the cleanup of their environment.
Meanwhile Some youth Corpse members in port Harcourt City local Government council under”The Rivgreen Community Development service (CDS) of the National Youth Service Corpse have carried out a sanitisation exercise at Abali park in port Harcourt City local Government council.
Over 50 corp members were involved in the cleanup exercise.
President Rivgreen CDS of the Nysc Omagbele Fabulous told the Tide that the exercise will be a continuous one .
He added that the next phase of their programm will involve tree planting around the garden city of port Harcourt so that the name will be in tandem with the present state of things in the city.
Environment
Group Wants Audit Of Ogoni Clean-Up Project
An environmental group, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, has called on Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to commence a comprehensive health and environmental audit of the Ogoni clean-up project.
This was contained in a statement made available to news men in port Harcourt.
The statement also regretted that the clean-up of Ogoniland has taken longer than necessary despite the available resources and manpower made available to the coordinating agency.
The statement congratulated the newly appointed HYPREP Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, adding that he must do things differently, focus on inclusion of stakeholders in the operations.
It qouted the Director of the foundation Dr Nnimmo Bassey as saying “While we congratulate Prof. Zabbey, we equally take the opportunity to register some key urgent demands and hope that he uses his good office to advocate cleanup of the entire Niger Delta.
“Government should take coordinated action to end pollution including gas flaring.”
According to the statement Nnimo Bassey noted that with Zabbey’s pedigree as an academician and activist, the expectations of stakeholders are high and failure is not an option, calling for regular consultations to complex pollution sites.
“We applaud the appointment, as he has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important researches in the area and in the wider Niger Delta region, coming 12 years after the UNEP report and sluggish manner by which the clean-up has been approached,” Bassey added.
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