NOSDRA lacks equipment to detect spills, says ERA/FoEN

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro Benin

Environmental Rights Action and Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has said the National Oil Spill Detention and Response Agency (NOSDRA) neither has the equipment to detect spills nor respond to spills.
The Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, described lack of compliance and weak environmental laws as some of the inhibitors to the enforcement of existing environmental laws.
Recall that the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006, established NOSDRA as an institutional framework to implement the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan which is a blueprint/manual for checking oil spill through, containment, recovery, and remediation/restoration.
Ojo disclosed this at an interactive session with the media in Benin City, the Edo state Capital where he demanded implementation of environmental laws in the country.
He said the organization was committed to monitoring and evaluation of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region and create awareness which would form a critical mass and engender policy change for better Nigeria.
“There is noncompliance with environmental laws in Nigeria. It is unfortunate. So, there is lack of compliance mechanism and there are weak environmental laws. NOSDRA that is supposed to be in charge of the cleanup, neither have the equipment to detect spills nor respond to them adequately. These are the fundamental problems we have,” he said.