WED: Niger Delta Voices Alarm Over Gas Flaring, Oil Spill Devastation
As Nigeria joins the international community to mark the 2026 World Earth Day (WED), participants at a summit held in Ntak Inyang, an oil-bearing community in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, have expressed deep concern over the devastating impacts of oil spills, gas flaring, and other environmental challenges plaguing the Niger Delta region.
The conferees called for a holistic and sustained remedial action to curb the scourge through deliberate policies promoting clean energy transition and green innovation.
They lamented that gas pollution, oil spills, and widespread environmental degradation resulting from the exploration activities of both indigenous and international oil companies (IOCs) have severely affected local populations, contributing to health conditions such as cancer, blindness, and other air-borne diseases.
Addressing the forum, the Executive Director of the Network Advancement Program for Poverty and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAPPDRR), a civil society organisation, Hon. Emem Edoho, emphasised the urgent need for intervention to protect the environment from persistent degradation in the interest of humanity.
Welcoming stakeholders to the event—including the Chairman of Esit Eket LGA, the Supervisor for Environment, the Village Head, elders of Ntak Inyang, as well as the principal, staff, and students of Model International Secondary School (MISS), alongside representatives of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs)—the NAPPDRR chief warned that “real earth action must begin where the earth is most wounded.”
“For over 60 years, the Niger Delta has powered Nigeria through oil and gas extraction. Yet host communities like Ntak Inyang continue to suffer disproportionate environmental harm,” he said.
He further stated: “We live under gas flares that alter our weather patterns. We farm on soil weakened by oil spills. We drink from water sources under constant threat. We face floods and heat intensified by climate change.”
“Climate change is not neutral. It impacts most severely where poverty intersects with pollution. Our children miss school due to flooding, our farmers harvest less, and our families spend more on illness. This is environmental injustice. World Earth Day 2026 calls on us to confront it—and to correct it.”
Youth engagement and environmental responsibility
Urging students to take active roles in environmental restoration, he encouraged them to become frontline advocates in healing the earth from years of exploitation.
“You are not future leaders; you are present defenders. You breathe this air, you walk these flooded roads, you see the black soot on your white uniforms. That lived experience makes you the most credible voices for change,”.
He added that major climate justice movements globally have often begun when young people chose to speak out and take action.
He further called on residents to move from words to action through tree-planting campaigns, awareness creation, and sustained environmental sensitisation.
“Trees are not just decoration; they are protection. They clean the air we breathe, hold the soil against erosion, and cool our classrooms. They are living proof that restoration is possible,” he stated.
In his goodwill message, the Vice Principal of Model International Secondary School (MISS), Ntak Inyang, Mr. Jack Jack, who represented the principal, commended NAPPDRR for its environmental and climate justice initiative within the school environment.
He assured that the school would continue to collaborate with the organisation in promoting environmental sustainability activities.
Similarly, the Chairman of Esit Eket Local Government Area, represented by the Supervisor for Environment, Hon. Imoh Jonah, expressed appreciation to NAPPDRR for choosing Esit Eket to host the 2026 World Earth Day celebration, describing the initiative as timely and impactful in advancing environmental protection and climate adaptation.
He emphasised that young people remain key actors in climate and environmental justice. He also expressed concern over the extinction of wildlife species such as lions, elephants, and monkeys that once thrived in the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve within the area.
He further condemned the widespread deforestation of ancestral forests driven by illegal logging activities and the commercial sale of firewood.
The Village Head of Ntak Inyang, Chief John Okon Ekwere, also expressed deep appreciation to the NGO for hosting what he described as a historic environmental event in his community, noting its significance in raising awareness and encouraging local action on environmental protection.
