Jonathan, Diri call for environmental justice, enhanced local content
By Precious Mark
Former President Goodluck Jonathan and Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri have led calls for environmental justice and enhanced local content in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, seven decades after the nation’s first commercial crude discovery.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 sweet crude dialogue at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) towers in Yenagoa, key leaders from across the Niger delta gathered to reflect on the heavy environmental toll and economic impact of 70 years of oil extraction.
The two-day event, themed “through the python’s eye: 70 years of oil and gas production in Nigeria,” brought together top government functionaries, industry players, and members of the academia.
Governor Diri, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Peter Akpe decried the severe environmental degradation caused by decades of extraction and urged advocacy groups to collaborate with government to enforce historical recommendations.
Citing findings from the Bayelsa state oil and environment commission, he noted that approximately 13 million barrels of crude spilled into the region between 1958 and 2010.
The commission described this ordeal as an environmental genocide.
“The state government has embraced the commission’s findings, and the governor has asked me to reaffirm, in the clearest terms, this administration’s commitment to environmental justice, the remediation of our lands and waters, the restoration of livelihoods, and a just energy transition in which the communities that bore the burdens of the oil age are not abandoned at its close.
“A report of such weight must not remain on the shelf, and government cannot carry this responsibility alone.
“The Bayelsa state government, therefore, calls on De Mangrove conversations and all environmental advocacy organizations, especially those working across the Niger delta, to align their efforts with the implementation of the recommendations of the Bayelsa state oil and environmental commission.”
Addressing attendees as chairman of the occasion, former president Goodluck Jonathan emphasized that exporting crude oil alone cannot drive sustainable economic growth or generate enough employment opportunities for the nation.
He stressed that real progress depends on building local capacity to produce the equipment and technology required by the oil industry.
“If we cannot develop or produce some of these things used in the oil industry within the country, we will not achieve anything significant in the oil industry. It is not just about selling of the crude oil,” Jonathan said.
“Yes, we earn money from that but that does not diversify the economy and create enough jobs. What will diversify your economy is the industrial aspects of the operations of the oil industry.
“That’s why I am happy with the local content board law my administration enacted in 2010 and the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021. With these two pieces of legislation and if they are followed to the letter with amendments where necessary, I believe things will be much better.”
In his keynote address, Prof. Ibibia Worika, a professor of comparative petroleum and international law and policy, observed that while 70 years of oil production brought immense national revenue, it also fostered a damaging reliance on resource rents at the expense of agriculture and manufacturing.
He argued that true development must prioritize human well-being and ecological protection.
“Instead of serving as a catalyst for economic diversification, petroleum gradually replaced agriculture, weakened manufacturing and encouraged dependency on resource rent,” Prof. Worika said.
“The Niger delta has always borne the burden of oil production. The tragedy of the Niger delta reminds us that development cannot be measured by revenue generation alone.
“And that development must necessarily improve the wellbeing of the people as well as protect the environment.”
The two-day event featured goodwill messages, including one from Delta state governor Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by his chief of staff, Prince Johnson Erijo.
A panel discussion moderated by Prof. Franklin Osaisai also brought together representatives from the Niger delta development commission, the Pan Niger delta forum, Bayelsa medical university, Niger delta university, and the host board, NCDMB.