YENAGOA—WORRIED by the widespread environmental crisis in the country especially in the Niger Delta, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Culture, Tourism and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas has called for an overriding holistic environmental legislation in country.
Douglas in an interview in Yenagoa told Vanguard that "the business of protecting the environment is the singular most important issue on which the doctrine of good governance must be anchored since it is the heart of the survival of all nations."
The former Deputy Director of Environment Rights Action (ERA) noted that in today’s Nigeria, there exists no overall apex environmental legislative instrument where all other laws could draw inspiration and direction with the result that the oil bearing communities of the Niger Delta are exposed to the manipulation of the transnational corporations.
"At the moment, there is chaos and a disturbing degree of confusion in the environmental governance system in the country as the sector is presently dominated by special interest forces, power play, misunderstanding of environmental protection regulation and misplaced economic and social priorities.
"There are several institutions, agencies, parastatals, ministries and ministers all laying claim to be environmental regulators and enforcers. The tragedy is that there is no effective regulation and enforcement is taking place yet they all have enabling laws giving them powers to remain indolent, confounding and almost useless."
These, according to him, explain the reason why the people of the Niger Delta are at the receiving end of the oppressive legislation put in place by the Federal Government.
"In the Niger Delta, you can sue the oil companies for polluting your land in a federal high court where filing fees are expensive in courts overworked and few in number. Unlike some countries where the environment is a right this is not the case with our country Nigeria.
Neither the constitution nor the various existing laws on environment have given citizens the right to protect the environment as obtained in South Africa and Ethiopia," he said.
The Commissioner blamed the spate of crises in the Niger Delta on the insensitivity of the Federal Government to the massive environmental onslaught unleashed on the people by the transnational corporations in the course of oil exploration and exploitation.
