ERA demands reform from industry players to assist victims of oil spill

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro

The Environmental Rights Action and Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN), Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to compel multinational Companies operating in Nigeria to deposit Environmental remediation bond before investing or divesting.

This is contained in an open letter to President Buhari by the  Executive Director of the Organization, Chima Williams, the legal Counsel which secured victory for the Bonga fishermen – victims of the spill in Bayelsa State at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

He also appealed to the government to stop giving incentives to entities that have abandoned their investment in onshore to offshore after destroying the ecosystem in Nigeria.

Chima urged the government to mandate relevant Ministries, Departments, and agencies of Government working with Civil society Organizations (CSOs), Community leaders to work out an Environmental remediation Bond to assist victims of oil spill and replenish degraded ecosystem arising from oil exploitation.

The Executive Director who won the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa in May 2022, commended president Muhammadu Buhari for signing into law, the “Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021” which he said provides the strategic focus in combating Climate change.

He further assured that sustained agitations through the instruments of the law would help to protect the natural habitat and give a sense of belonging to breadwinners of the families who lost have lost their livelihood to pollution.

According to him, “You cannot leave your legacy problems and run away from a deep offshore and leave sick people to die from pollution whereas those who are causing the problems. We are not saying that you cannot divest, but take care of the problems you have created.

“We are not saying that they should not invest, but, be reminded that he who buys the divested oil assets, buys the liability”, he said.

On her part, Princes Elizabeth Egbe, Coordinator of Artisans Fishermen Association of Nigeria, decried non payment of compensation to victims of oil Bonga oil spill which occurred on December 20, 2022.