Oil  Firms  Must Clean Niger Delta Before Fossil Fuels Phase-out, Says Nnimmo Bassey

 Environmental activist and Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nnimmo Bassey, has warned that Nigeria may never clean up the devastated Niger Delta environment if urgent remediation efforts are not undertaken before the global transition away from fossil fuels is completed.

Bassey spoke in Port Harcourt while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Correspondents’ Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, themed, “The Imperatives of Comprehensive Cleanup of the Niger Delta Environment: Role of the Media.”

He warned that the global move away from crude oil poses a major threat to the future of environmental restoration in the Niger Delta, stressing that oil companies and the Nigerian government must be compelled to clean up decades of pollution now that petroleum still generates massive profits.

“So, now, the issue of transiting away from oil, whether we like it or not, oil will one day be phased out. Now, when that happens, what will happen to Nigeria?” Bassey queried.

“Is it when oil is no longer needed, we’re going to find money to clean the Niger Delta? No, we will not. If the Niger Delta is not clean now, when people are still buying oil, then we are sold.”

He declared that no corporation had the moral right to devastate local communities and escape accountability while declaring huge profits.

“Clean up the mess. Nobody has the right to poison my water, poison my soil, poison my air, and then run away to the bank with profits. That is totally immoral and unacceptable. And we have to say that whether it’s NNPCL, Shell, Chevron or Renaissance.”

The renowned environmentalist also faulted the persistent attribution of oil spills solely to sabotage and vandalism, insisting that many spills were caused by ageing and poorly maintained pipelines.Gas price forecast

“There was a period in the history of Nigeria, when third party interferences were advertised in the media. When we had militants, they would say they were going to blow up pipelines and they blew it off. So I cannot say it didn’t happen.”

“But to blend everything and blame every oil spill on vandalism I don’t agree. When you see rotten pipelines, pipelines put in such exposed places, not protected, no standards, they are not replaced when they are meant to be replaced, because every pipe itself has a time to expire.”

According to him, many of the pipelines operating in the Niger Delta are over 50 years old and should have been replaced long ago.

“And then it just sounds silly to blame every spill on vandalism whereas your pipelines laid over 50 years ago are obsolete, expired and ought to be replaced.”

Bassey further dismissed claims of sabotage in cases where leak points clearly indicated equipment failure.

“I know in the case of some communities where the pipeline is leaking at six o’clock position, under the pipe, and you said there’s always a third-party interference. If I’m going to dig six feet into the ground and then bust the pipe, I will not bust it from under the pipe, would I?”

The environmental campaigner also argued that Nigeria was economically stronger before crude oil became the nation’s dominant revenue source, lamenting that oil wealth destroyed agriculture and productive sectors of the economy.Gas price forecast

“Nigeria was better off without oil. Before oil was discovered, we had vibrant education, good infrastructure. In fact, we had the best roads built in the 50s and 60s in some places. We had agriculture. Nigeria was the main exporter of food before oil became a major revenue earner.”

He described extractive oil economics as a continuation of colonial exploitation, comparing it to colonial-era cash crop production designed for export rather than local development.

“Extractivity is colonial, just like the idea of cash cropping. Instead of cultivating okra, yam and so on, you are planting cotton and cocoa, and you don’t make chocolate. You export and make money with no food to feed yourself.”

Bassey also called on Nigeria to align with emerging economic blocs like BRICS in order to break what he described as the monopoly control of the global economy by powerful nations.

“That’s why when you have a group like the BRICS, we should be supporting the BRICS and breaking the monopoly of control of the global economy by certain governments or countries in the world.”

On gas flaring, the activist accused both oil companies and the Nigerian government of sustaining what he described as an environmental crime despite decades of court rulings against the practice.

“The issue of gas-flaring is currently about to appear in the ECOWAS Court. In 2005, there was litigation by the Iwherekan Community in Delta State, and the High Court in Benin declared gas-flaring illegal and against the constitutional right to life.”

He lamented that court judgments on environmental protection were routinely ignored, forcing communities to seek justice abroad.

“That’s why communities tend to go to foreign courts. And now the IOCs see that they cannot dodge judgment in their own countries. They want to change their names and say that they’re now owned by Nigerian companies so that you cannot go to London or go to the Netherlands to sue them. They are divesting to evade responsibilities.”

Bassey also questioned why gas flaring persists despite the growing global demand for natural gas.

“Right from 1963, the British colonial office wrote to Shell and said one day you are going to be held to account for this abuse of the environment.”

“Is there no market for natural gas today? Why are they still flaring gas?” he asked.

He maintained that the real solution was not merely imposing fines but ending gas flaring completely.

“What we need to do is to stop gas-flaring. Stop gas-flaring because it’s an iniquity and it’s against the right to life.”

The environmentalist said the media must continue to expose ecological destruction in the Niger Delta and hold both government and multinational corporations accountable.

“The fact that we are holding this conference today is a message to the government at all levels. They cannot keep on pretending that all is well because all is not well.”