The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has called on stakeholders in the petroleum industry to take measures that would prevent oil spill in Nigeria.
The Chairman, Governing Board of NOSDRA and Emir of Keffi, Dr Shehu Yamusa (III), made the call on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Abuja, at a stakeholders meeting with oil companies operating in Nigeria.
Yamusa said that operators in the petroleum sector shared a common goal of ensuring the effective response to oil spill and sustainable management of the Nigerian environment for national development.
He said oil spillage could be prevented through compliance with extant laws, regulations and guidelines, on environmental management in the petroleum industry.
The Royal Father was represented by Mr Idris Musa, the Director-General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
He said that stakeholders would discuss action plans on the management of oil spills in 2023, with emphasis on reviewing regulatory procedures with regards to reportage.
Others, he said, included the conduct of Joint Investigation Visits (JIV), Clean-Up and remediation of oil spill impacted sites. as well as the conduct of Post Spill Impact Assessment (PSIA), among others.
“The transparent conduct of these processes is very important, not just for the integrity and credibility of the regulatory agency (NOSDRA), but also for sustainable environment management, fair, just and amicable resolution of disputes that may arise therefrom.
“The vision statement of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is to create, nurture and sustain a zero tolerance for oil spill incidents.
“This can only be achieved if players in the industry take measures to ensure prevention of oil spill occurrence through compliance with extant laws, regulations and guidelines on environmental management in the petroleum industry,” Yamusa said.
In his remarks, Musa said that oil spill management was of paramount importance to the agency and other stakeholders in the oil sector.
“We are actually aware of the devastating impacts that oil spills have on ecosystems, wildlife, local economies, the well- being and livelihoods of host communities.
“It is a collective responsibility that we must shoulder together as stakeholders representing various sectors, to tackle this pressing issue head-on, and work towards effective and efficient solutions,” the D-G said.
Also addressing journalists on the sidelines of the event, Musa said the agency had made impact in cleaning oil spills in the oil producing areas through the clean-up and remediation of oil spill impacted sites.
“As of today, I can tell you that NOSDRA, as an agency, has certified about 40 cleaned-up impacted sites in Ogoni land and there are almost about the same number in the process at different levels of operations.
“None is less than 50 per cent, in another few months, we will be recording about 70 to 80 per cent clean-up sites in Ogoni land,” the D-G said.
By Doris Esa
