A major investigation led by Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu into the environmental and social impact of oil companies activities in Nigeria has just been launched.
The Archbishop is currently in the west African country, where the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission will look into the human and environmental impact of the activity of multinational oil companies operating in Bayelsa State, in the Niger Delta.
Some 40 million litres of oil is spilled annually in the Niger Delta, in comparison to 4 million litres of oil spilled in the United States in the same amount of time.
It is estimated that oil spills, which heavily pollute the Niger River, could have killed around 16,000 infants within their first month of life.
The Commission’s aim is for oil companies to agree to a global standard of behaviour, conducting their operations in Bayelsa as they would in Norway, Scotland or the USA.
Commissioners include Baroness Valerie Amos, former Under Secretary General at the United Nations, and John Kufuor, former President of Ghana, as well as a number of high-level experts including pre-eminent expert on the Niger Delta, Dr Michael Watts.
The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission has been convened by Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, in the Niger Delta, one of the largest oil and gas producing states in Nigeria.
Oil companies operating in the state have for decades acted with impunity and with little regard for the environment and people, causing multiple oil spills and leading to environmental degradation and loss of human life.
The Chair of the Commission, the Archbishop of York noted: “This Commission will investigate the human and environmental impact of multinational oil company activity and is crucial to the prosperous future of the people of Bayelsa and their environment, Nigeria and hopefully to other oil-producing nations”.
The Governor of Bayelsa State stated: “I established the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission to hold oil companies to account, to shift the mindset of multinationals operating in Bayelsa and to inspire a sustainable change”.
Oil and Bayelsa State
In 1956 the Anglo-Dutch firm Shell drilled Nigeria’s first oil well in Bayelsa State.
Today, Bayelsa State is one of Nigeria’s largest oil and gas producing states, however the state has suffered vast environmental and human damage.
Bayelsa accounts for 40% of Nigeria’s oil wealth, and hosts the operations of the large multinational oil companies.
The Commission
The Commission will investigate the environmental and human damage caused by operation of oil companies as a result of oil spills and will analyse legislation governing the operation of multinational oil companies in Bayelsa State and in Nigeria more broadly.
The Commission will develop a set of recommendations that lead to the development of a new legal framework that ensures accountability. Ultimately the Commission’s aim is for oil companies to agree to a global standard of behaviour, conducting their operations in Bayelsa as they would in Norway, Scotland or the USA.
Governor Dickson has campaigned for the environment throughout his tenure in office.
For World Environment day in 2018, Governor Dickson organised a rally against environmental damage caused by oil companies in the Niger Delta where he noted that “the world has looked on for too long without taking the necessary collective action to put a stop to the damage being done by oil companies in Bayelsa. We must put the environment and the health and wellbeing of our communities first”.