Nation
Group Canvasses Adequate Funding For Oil And Gas Regulatory Agencies
Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on the Federal Government to adequately fund the regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector.
The CSOs made the call yesterday at a meeting organised by the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) in Port Harcourt.
They opined that adequate funding would help to increase the effectiveness and independence of the agencies.
The Tide’s source reports that the meeting had in attendance 47 participants drawn from civil society organisations, representatives of the media and some communities in the Niger Delta region.
The Acting Executive Director of ANEEJ, Mr Leo Atakpu, said that the meeting was to enable them to reflect on the state of the Niger Delta region and the quest for late Ken Saro Wiwa’s struggle for environmental justice.
Atakpu, represented by ANEEJ Board member, Mr Nowinta Igbotako, also said that the meeting was to discuss emerging issues that had implications on the Niger Delta environment.
According to him, the meeting was part of the implementation of the advocacy for fossil fuel phase out in Nigeria, supported by the African Climate Foundation.
He said that the group was particularly interested in advancing the implementation of Paris Climate Agreement by encouraging oil companies and their investors to adopt the call for carbon emission reduction targeting 1.50C and bellow.
He said that the group’s interest was also about the fossil fuel phase-out with a just energy transition projection to protect the natural environment from pollution and over-exploitation.
Atakpu said that despite the urgent need for the world to quickly move away from fossil fuel or drastically reduce carbon emission to meet the 1.50C target set in Paris, oil and gas companies had yet to provide realistic plans that would save the planet from destruction and ensure global comfort.
“Major oil companies have abandoned initial climate commitments for short term profit because of increased global demand for crude oil.
“In 2023, the Church of England Pensions Board, a major investor in Shell and other oil companies, announced that it is withdrawing its fund from Shell and other companies because such companies had abandoned their climate commitments for short term profit.
“Nigeria’s oil wells are constantly being developed, the environment, including land, air and water, is polluted.
“The people’s livelihood has been badly affected.
“These are some of the reasons ANEEJ produced a documentary to show evidence and reflect on Saro Wiwa’s struggle for environmental justice in the Niger Delta region,” Atakpu said.
The meeting also discussed the outcome of COP28, which took place in Dubai in December 2023.
It also discussed the recent spate of divestments by International Oil Companies from on-shore operations in the Niger Delta, particularly the announcement by Shell of the planned sale of its Nigerian on-shore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
The meeting also discussed the recently released responsible investment report by the Norges Bank Investment Management, a major investor in Shell, Eni and other oil companies.
In a communique, the meeting decried the lack of recognition of Shell’s operational failures by Norges, in spite of the evidence presented in the reports and witness statements, which showed that Shell could have done more to prevent and remediate oil spills in the region.
The meeting also decried the weak regulatory framework in the oil and gas sector in the country, where regulators depend on the oil and gas companies’ facilities and data to do their job.
The CSOs, therefore, urged the Federal Government and the regulators to adopt a national framework on responsible divestment that would guide oil companies’ divestment to align it with environmental restoration and climate mitigation.
They also decried the poor participation of political actors from the region in the global climate change discourse, including the COP processes.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
