Stiffer penalties await oil firms in Nigeria for environmental damage

The Federal Government has said it would come up with effective legislations to tackle oil spill and other environmental degradation activities by organisations and individuals.
The new move, which was contained in a statement issued by Special Assistant to the Minister of Environment, Mr Rotimi Ajayi, involves development of national legislations, which will spell out the liabilities, response actions and compensations for damages caused by activities to the environment in very clear terms.

The statement noted that Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, said this in Nairobi, Kenya, while addressing his colleagues from all over the world at the 25th Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Minister, who led delegates from multi-sectoral organisations in Nigeria to the meeting, noted that the time had come for stringent measures to be taken to ensure protection of the Environment and means of livelihood of the people, particularly those in the Niger Delta area.
"As I speak, environmental degradation, climate change, global economic downturn, food and energy crises are the multiple challenges staring us in the face. Environmental degradation has been worsened by the vagaries of climate change."

"Of more concern to us should be the fact that these challenges, if not tackled head-on, could weaken our efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Oil spillage poses very serious environmental problems in Nigeria. Aside from the un-ending threats to the marine or aquatic lives in that area, the means of livelihood of the people has been drastically endangered," he said.
Odey said Nigeria was in full support of the Global Green Economy Initiative (the Global Green New Deal) which seeks to reduce environmental degradation while still opening up economic development through creation of millions of new jobs and improvement of the livelihoods of the poor masses.

The UNEP meeting is held to form stronger multi-lateral position to tackle the problem of climate change and other environmental problems.
Some 66 countries and major environmental groups, as well as stakeholders, are attending the meeting.