By Abbas Nazil
A civil society organisation, Oilwatch International, has called for the creation of a $1 trillion ecological remediation fund to support the large-scale cleanup and restoration of oil-polluted communities across the Niger Delta region.
The group made the appeal during its 2026 stakeholders’ meeting held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where it urged the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders to expand existing cleanup initiatives beyond Ogoniland to other heavily polluted areas in Bayelsa and the wider Niger Delta.
Oilwatch International coordinator, Mr. Kentebe Ebiaridor, said decades of oil pollution have caused severe environmental degradation in the region, destroying livelihoods, weakening local economies and undermining the dignity of affected communities.
He stated that the proposed fund is intended to address long-standing ecological damage and support comprehensive environmental recovery efforts across impacted oil-producing communities.
Ebiaridor stressed that ongoing cleanup efforts should not remain limited to specific pilot areas, but should instead be scaled up to cover all communities suffering from oil contamination.
He also urged the government to adopt more decisive actions toward environmental restoration, warning that continued dependence on fossil fuel extraction is unsustainable as the global energy transition accelerates.
According to him, Nigeria must begin to diversify its economy while simultaneously addressing the environmental consequences of decades of oil exploitation in the Niger Delta.
At the meeting, the Chief Operating Officer of Environmental Conservation Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Alagoa Morris, described recent environmental assessments in Bayelsa State as an important step toward broader ecological recovery planning.
He said the report provides a useful framework that could guide expanded remediation efforts across the region.
Morris also expressed optimism that the United Nations-supported cleanup model currently applied in Ogoniland could be extended to other polluted communities within the Niger Delta.
He emphasized the need for continued advocacy by civil society organisations to ensure environmental justice, improved public health outcomes and restoration of livelihoods in affected areas.
Morris further called for strict enforcement of the “polluter pays” principle, arguing that oil companies must be held accountable for environmental damage and required to fully finance remediation efforts.
He said effective regulation and enforcement would ensure that extractive industry operators take responsibility for restoring damaged ecosystems rather than leaving communities to bear the consequences.
A lecturer at Niger Delta University, Dr. Charles Oyibo, also highlighted the persistent environmental challenges facing the region, noting that pollution from oil exploration continues to threaten public health and economic survival.
Oyibo said that decades of oil extraction have prioritized economic gains over environmental protection, leaving host communities vulnerable to pollution-related risks and long-term ecological damage.
He called for stronger public awareness campaigns and more robust accountability mechanisms to ensure that oil companies meet their environmental obligations.
The stakeholders’ meeting concluded with renewed calls for coordinated action among government agencies, civil society groups and international partners to address the widespread environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and support sustainable development in the region.
