Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Abandoned oil wells have continued to undermine farming, fishing and other livelihoods across eight communities in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas, LGAs, of Akwa Ibom State, residents have told the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF.
The communities said decades after Shell drilled and capped the wells in the 1950s, following their classification as commercially unviable, the abandoned petroleum infrastructure and associated pollution continue to deprive residents of productive farmland, fishing grounds and other economic resources.
The concerns were raised during a capacity-sharing dialogue organised by HOMEF under its Fossil Politics project in Ikot Enua community, Ikono LGA.
Residents from Ikot Enua, Uyo Afaha Nkan, Adara Abom, Ikot Idaha, Edem Udua, Ediene Atai, Ntan Mbat and Nkara Obio reported declining crop yields, dying economic trees, polluted streams, disappearing fish and snails, damaged property and loss of livelihoods.
In Uyo Afaha Nkan, Barrister Trust Udoh said oil pollution had made some farmland unusable and contaminated community water sources.
“We can’t plant in my farm anymore,” he said, calling for the removal of the abandoned oil installation to allow residents regain access to their farmland.
At Ikot Enua, Chief Felix Vincent Udoh said agricultural productivity had declined, while oil palm seedlings were dying and species previously common in the community had disappeared.
He also raised concerns about insecurity around the abandoned infrastructure, alleging that armed men suspected to be militants visit the facilities to steal from them.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said the situation demonstrated how the economic costs of petroleum extraction can persist in communities long after commercial operations have ceased.
“The money needed to clean up pollution in the Niger Delta is more than the money the oil companies have generated,” Bassey said.
“Abandonment cannot be the final stage of extraction. The responsibility to restore the land must continue long after the commercial interest in the resource has ended; the wells may have been abandoned, but responsibility cannot be abandoned.”
Bassey said the affected communities should not be subjected to further extractive activity as a response to the legacy of abandoned petroleum infrastructure.
“The response to the legacy of abandoned oil wells cannot be renewed extraction,” he said.
“The priority must be to decommission hazardous infrastructure, clean up pollution, restore ecosystems, compensate affected communities and support sustainable livelihoods beyond extractivism.”
He said the experience of the communities reflected a wider pattern across oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta.
“No host community in Nigeria has developed from the mere discovery or exploration of oil on its land,” Bassey said.
“From Bille and Ogoniland to Nembe, Ayetoro and Ibeno to Obodo, communities have continued to contend with pollution, livelihood losses, inadequate infrastructure and struggles for justice.”
HOMEF called on Shell, the Federal Government, petroleum regulators and the Akwa Ibom State Government to properly assess, decommission and remove abandoned oil wells and associated hazardous infrastructure across the affected communities.
The organisation also demanded comprehensive cleanup and ecological restoration of polluted farmlands, streams, wetlands and other ecosystems, alongside compensation for affected residents.
It further called for investigations into reported health concerns, environmental-health assessments and long-term monitoring, as well as meaningful community participation in decisions concerning assessment, remediation and restoration.
HOMEF urged authorities to support sustainable farming, fishing, ecological restoration and other non-extractive livelihoods, emphasizing that restoration should enable affected communities to rebuild their economic base without renewed ecological destruction.
