Akwa Ibom Oil Producing Development Network, a non-governmental organization committed to environmental justice in the state, has commended the federal government for imposing penalties on oil companies flaring gas in the country.
The group also appealed to the government to prevail on the companies to convert the wasted gas to electricity generation, pay compensation to affected victims as well as restore the polluted environment to make it safe for human habitation.
The Punch had reported that the federal government would impose $49m (N22bn) fine on oil and gas companies operating onshore for flaring 24b Standard Cubic Feet of gas valued at about N40bn( ($86m) between January and February 2023.
In a statement in Uyo on Friday, the group’s President, Apostle (Dr.) Ufot Phenson, said that the federal government’s action was a proof of a determination to ensure the security and wellbeing of citizens of oil producing communities.
He said, “The penalties so imposed by the federal government on oil companies is a welcome development and a proof of their guilt.
“The federal government’s reaction in this regard is a clear demonstration of government’s determination to ensure the security and the well-being of its citizens in the oil producing communities which is the first duty of any responsible government.
“We therefore appeal to the federal government to apply all the powers at its disposal to prevail on all oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria to convert the wasted gas to generate electricity, pay compensation to the affected victims of gas flaring and restore the polluted/devasted Akwa Ibom environment to make it safe for human habitation, survival and development for a peaceful coexistence”.
Noting that the federal government’s sanctions came at the right time, the president however lamented that gas flaring, coupled with oil spills, has resulted to devastation of the environment, leaving the affected communities in abject poverty.
According to him, “The ongoing gas flaring at various locations coupled with oil spills and other harmful economic activities of oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria, since 1950s, has resulted in the devastation of the environment, abject poverty and dilapidation of buildings, thereby making those living in Akwa Ibom State, and other parts of the Niger Delta, to suffer unduly and without payment of compensation to alleviate their sufferings”.
