The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has launched a blistering attack on the Federal Government over the ongoing 2025 commercial bid round for oil blocks, accusing Abuja of exploiting the Niger Delta’s resources while leaving the oil-rich region impoverished, polluted and neglected.
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, PANDEF National Spokesman and Publicity Secretary, Chief Dr. Obiuwevbi Ominimini, described the exercise as another reminder of the “pain and agony” endured by Niger Delta communities despite being the nation’s economic backbone.
The regional body questioned the Federal Government’s repeated claims that Nigeria remains an attractive destination for investment in the oil and gas sector, insisting that such declarations ignore the environmental devastation and health hazards suffered daily by host communities.
“It is true that the lives of the people of the Niger Delta matter not to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” PANDEF said.
The group challenged the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) and the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil) over what it described as their failure to tackle decades of gas flaring and environmental degradation across the region.
According to PANDEF, communities stretching from Sapele, Orerokpe, Warri, Jeremi, Okpare, Oviri, Ewu, Kokori, Udu, Ughelli, Agbarha-Otor, Orogun, Oleh, Ozoro, Kwale and Abor to Yenagoa, Oloibiri, Port Harcourt and Uyo continue to grapple with polluted groundwater caused by years of oil exploration.
The forum lamented that residents can no longer drink, cook or wash with water from their rivers because of widespread contamination.
“It is nothing but evil. When shall the people of the Niger Delta enjoy their God-given oil wealth?” the statement queried.
PANDEF also faulted the ownership structure of Nigeria’s oil industry, arguing that while the Niger Delta hosts the country’s oil and gas reserves, indigenous people remain largely excluded from ownership of oil blocks and marginal fields.
It demanded greater transparency in the management of gas flare penalties, insisting that such funds should be channelled towards addressing the environmental and health challenges confronting oil-producing communities.
“The oil has become a curse rather than a blessing because of the deliberate attitude of the Federal Government to exclude us from benefiting from our natural resources,” the group declared.
The organisation renewed its longstanding call for resource control, arguing that Nigeria’s founding leaders envisaged a federation where constituent units controlled their natural resources and remitted taxes to the central government.
PANDEF blamed successive military administrations for dismantling that arrangement, describing the current revenue-sharing structure as oppressive and unjust.
The group also condemned the destruction of artisanal refineries by security agencies while, according to it, illegal mining of solid minerals continues in other parts of the country.
It urged the Federal Government to establish a legal framework that would allow local refiners to access crude oil and operate licensed modular artisanal refineries.
“The boys in the creeks who were able to develop local self-made refineries deserve commendation and encouragement,” PANDEF stated, arguing that formalising local refining would boost self-sufficiency and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The forum further called for a comprehensive forensic audit of previous oil block allocation exercises conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, alleging that past bid rounds lacked transparency.
As part of its demands, PANDEF urged the Federal Government to reserve at least 60 per cent of all oil blocks and marginal fields for companies owned by Niger Deltans, saying such a policy would give host communities a genuine stake in the nation’s petroleum industry.
According to the group, the measure would help address decades of perceived marginalisation and ensure that communities bearing the environmental cost of oil production receive commensurate economic benefits.
