Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — As the world marks World Environment Day 2025 tomorrow with the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution,” the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, has raised the alarm over decades of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, blaming oil and gas companies for what it describes as one of the worst ecological disasters in the world.
Despite being a biodiversity-rich region and the heart of Nigeria’s oil economy, the Niger Delta remains one of the most polluted places on the planet due to unchecked oil extraction, gas flaring, and weak environmental accountability.
In a statement signed by YEAC-Nigeria’s Executive Director, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the group condemned the environmental toll of fossil fuel activities and called for sustainable practices by oil multinationals operating in the region.
“The Niger Delta should not remain an environmental wasteland while feeding the nation’s economy. It is time for oil and gas companies to reduce gas flaring, invest meaningfully in environmental restoration, and treat the region and its people with dignity.”
He stressed that projects like the Ogoni Clean-up, being undertaken by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, and the $12 billion Bayelsa State Environmental Assessment Report must be adequately funded and accelerated to reverse decades of damage.
YEAC-Nigeria also called out regulatory bodies, particularly the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, urging it to enhance its oil spill response strategies and enforce stricter compliance on operators.
“Regulators must wake up to their responsibility. We need a proactive NOSDRA that holds polluters accountable and ensures timely remediation when spills occur.”
On the global theme of plastic pollution, YEAC-Nigeria advocated for a comprehensive waste management strategy that includes recycling, waste-to-energy technologies, and the use of biodegradable materials.
“The plastic crisis is choking our waterways and farmlands. We must embrace policy-driven solutions and promote alternatives through community-based engagement,” Dr. Fyneface said.
The Centre also urged policymakers to embrace climate-resilient development models, including investment in renewable energy, sustainable land-use practices, and adaptation measures to mitigate the growing threat of climate change, especially recurrent flooding.
“World Environment Day is not just symbolic. It is a call to action. We must urgently act, governments, corporations, and citizens, to preserve our environment for the present and generations yet unborn,” Dr Fyneface concluded.
YEAC-Nigeria’s strong message aligns with global efforts to draw attention to the intersection of environmental pollution, public health, and climate justice, particularly in vulnerable regions like the Niger Delta.
