Communities, civil society organizations, environmental
defenders, experts, and the media gathered for the Regional
Dialogue on the Niger Delta Environmental Cleanup: Issues,
Accountability and the Way Forward, organized by the
Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI) and
the Ogoni Solidarity Forum-Nigeria last August 13 in Port
Harcourt.
The dialogue confronted a question long
overdue: after decades of pollution, numerous reports, and
repeated but unfulfilled commitments to remediation, what
will it take to deliver a credible and accountable cleanup
of the Niger Delta?
Ogoni peoples, activists, and
civil society groups shared experiences, examined persistent
gaps in the cleanup process, and discussed how communities
can push for genuine accountability from government and
corporate actors.
For MEDI, the dialogue was described
as a step toward building a practical pathway for sustained
community and civil society engagement on environmental
cleanup and accountability, with organizers noting that this
is only the beginning, as voices, key conversations, and
outcomes from the dialogue will be shared in the coming
days.
A central issue raised was the Nigerian Upstream
Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s July 21, 2026 award of
the Yorla South Oil Field (PPL 2A32, within OML 11) to
Dutchford Exploration and Production Company
Limited.
Dutchess Energy Ltd, a Nigerian energy firm,
holds the majority share in Dutchford E&P. Dutchford
manages international subsidiaries and joint ventures across
the UK, UAE, and Malaysia to streamline global crude
lifting, marketing, and trading
logistics.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
Participants condemned the move, demanding
that Ogoni oil remain in the ground, that no wells be
reopened, and that dilapidated facilities be decommissioned
immediately alongside a comprehensive environmental
cleanup.
The International Indigenous Peoples Movement
for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) expressed
solidarity with the Ogoni people in this struggle, situating
the dialogue within this year’s commemoration of the
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples under
the theme “Indigenous Peoples, Fight for a Future Free
from Attacks, Plunder & Imperialist
Wars!”
“The Ogoni people have endured
environmental devastation for generations while imperialism
through multinational corporations in collusion with state
governments profit from their suffering. Will reopening oil
extraction in Ogoniland development? Or is it a continuation
of violence, exploitation and plunder against the Ogoni? Let
us stand with the Ogoni peoples in demanding
self-determination and justice, not another exploitation
masked as progress,” IPMSDL Co-convener Beverly Longid
stated.
