IHS Nigeria, a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider, paid a courtesy visit to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) on Tuesday (11th February 2025).
The meeting, held at NOSDRA’s headquarters, was attended by the Director-General/Chief Executive of NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, as well as other directors of the agency.
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During the visit, the Director of Government Relations and External Affairs at IHS Nigeria, Gimba Mohammad, provided an overview of the company’s operations, highlighting its role as a primary telecommunications infrastructure provider.
Gimba noted that IHS operates thousands of telecom towers across the country, relying on diesel-powered generators for its tower operations, which, in turn, poses potential risks of spillage and environmental contamination, thereby necessitating NOSDRA’s regulatory oversight.
The meeting between IHS Nigeria and NOSDRA was aimed at exploring opportunities for collaboration to ensure environmental compliance and sustainability.
In his brief, Mr. Irvine Obot, Deputy Director and Head of Special Duties at NOSDRA, noted that the agency had been actively engaged with IHS Nigeria since 2022 with regard to oil spill incidents in and around some of its sites reportedly attributed to its operations.
According to Obot, as part of NOSDRA’s regulatory mandate, the agency has conducted site assessments and initiated necessary remediation and close-out activities on some of such sites to ensure environmental compliance and conservation.
He noted that IHS had, through some of its correspondence to the agency, reiterated its commitment to compliance with environmental standards, stressing that in practice, the company’s compliance had been fair but there were pending environmental compliance cases that need to be addressed, including the pollution cases in Saka Alapa Aro Community, Osogbo, Osun State, Oke-Agba, Akure, Ondo State and Lingo Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja.
The DG/CE, in his closing remarks, highlighted the importance of collaboration and cordial relationship between NOSDRA and HIS, while commending the company for its congratulatory letter upon his assumption of office, setting a positive tone for their partnership.
Engr. Woke emphasised his commitment to supporting IHS as needed and providing training to its Site Managers in spill prevention and management.
According to him, this proactive approach would be aimed at equipping IHS with the necessary skills and dexterity to effectively manage oil spills on site and enlightening the company on spill management requirements from operators.
The DG/CE also emphasised the need for timely remediation of pending spill-impacted sites of HIS, in line with NOSDRA’s regulatory guidelines.
Gimba, in his response, acknowledged the challenges contributing to oil spills, including vandalization and theft, emphasizing that while completely eliminating spills may not be possible, the focus should be on HIS empowering itself to manage such incidents efficiently with the right tools
