The Guardian (Nigeria)

Environmen­tal Pollution: Group Urges FG To Halt Ecological Genocide In Niger Delta

- From Cornelius Essen, Abuja

AGROUP, Coalition for a Cleaned Niger Delta (CCND) has called on the Federal Government, as a matter of priority, to put in place sustainabl­e measures aimed at halting the ecological genocide currently going on in the Niger Delta region. Besides, it stated that ecosystem in the communitie­s and entire area, has been plagued by unpreceden­ted perennial pollution from oil activities, worsenedby­ahighlycon­flicted and compromise­d environmen­tal regulatory system in the past 70 years. Nnimmo Bassey of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, in a joint press conference in Abuja, regretted that the festering devastatio­n has projected and ranked the Niger Deltaamong­theworstoi­land gas polluted regions in the world.

Bassey urged President Bola Tinubu to uphold his sworn commitment to national renewal by calling for swift action to resolve the environmen­tal genocide that has increasing­ly threatened the continued existence of the people of the region.

He said there were 16,263 oil spills in the past 17 years, accounting for about 823,483 barrel of oil split equivalent to 4,103 tanker tricks or over 130million litres of crude oil, released by National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA).THESE estimates are usually grossly suppressed by operators.

Also speaking, Founding Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Developmen­t, Otive Igbuzor, said President Tinubu should be mindful of Nigeria’s numerous commitment to internatio­nal treaties and convention­s, including those on universal rights, climate change. among others.

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