Niger Delta leaders demand action after 70 years of oil exploration

Leaders in Nigeria's Niger Delta region gathered to assess the impact of seven decades of oil exploration, urging stakeholders to forge a path toward a more prosperous future for the area. The 2026 Sweet Crude Dialogue in Yenagoa brought together industry experts, academics, and government officials to discuss the theme, “Through the Python’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil and Gas Production in Nigeria.”

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The State Government has embraced the Commission’s findings, and the Governor has asked me to reaffirm, in the clearest terms, this administration’s commitment to environmental justice, the remediation of our lands and waters, the restoration of livelihoods, and a just energy transition in which the communities that bore the burdens of the oil age are not abandoned at its close.

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, represented by his deputy, decried the severe environmental damage in the Niger Delta. He called for concerted efforts to achieve justice for the region, referencing a report by the Archbishop John Sentamu-led Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission. The report indicated that approximately 13 million barrels of crude oil spilled in the region between 1958 and 2010. Diri described these findings as "sobering," with the commission's chairman characterizing the situation as "nothing short of an environmental genocide."

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A report of such weight must not remain on the shelf, and government cannot carry this responsibility alone.

The governor urged environmental advocacy groups like De Mangrove Conversations to collaborate with the government in implementing the commission's recommendations. He affirmed the state government's commitment to environmental justice, land and water remediation, livelihood restoration, and a just energy transition that supports communities burdened by the oil age. "A report of such weight must not remain on the shelf, and government cannot carry this responsibility alone," he stated, calling for alignment of efforts to implement the commission's findings.

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The Bayelsa State Government, therefore, calls on De Mangrove Conversations and all environmental advocacy organizations, especially those working across the Niger Delta, to align their efforts with the implementation of the recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who chaired the event, stressed that Nigeria could only achieve significant progress in the oil sector through increased local sourcing of production requirements. He argued that simply exporting crude oil would not sufficiently diversify the economy or create adequate jobs. "If we cannot develop or produce some of these things used in the oil industry within the country, we will not achieve anything significant in the oil industry," Jonathan said. "It is not just about selling crude oil. Yes, we earn money from that, but that does not diversify the economy and create enough jobs."

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If we cannot develop or produce some of these things used in the oil industry within the country, we will not achieve anything significant in the oil industry. It is not just about selling crude oil. Yes, we earn money from that, but that does not diversify the economy and create enough jobs.