By Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on South South Development Commission has said Nigeria’s failure to implement two critical Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) funds has denied the Niger Delta an estimated ₦1.27 trillion to ₦1.65 trillion that should have accrued for cleaning up polluted environments and decommissioning obsolete oil facilities since 2021.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Julius Gbabojör Pondi disclosed this during an interactive session with stakeholders at the National Assembly complex yesterday.
He lamented that the continued non-implementation of the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund and the Environmental Remediation Fund as mandated under the PIA.
He noted that, according to data presented before the committee, the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund should have accrued between ₦850 billion and ₦1.1 trillion, while the Environmental Remediation Fund should have accrued ₦420 billion to ₦550 billion if operationalized as required since the 2021.
He described the delay as a serious breach of environmental justice and a threat to sustainable development in the Niger Delta.
He said the funds were intended to make oil and gas companies fully accountable for decommissioning outdated infrastructure and rehabilitating degraded ecosystems.
“These funds were created to prevent the shifting of environmental liabilities to local communities. Yet, four years after the enactment of the PIA, they remain dormant, leaving farmlands polluted, rivers contaminated, fisheries depleted, and communities exposed to health hazards,” Pondi said.
Pondi also criticized the lack of clarity and operational progress from the responsible regulators, particularly the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, describing it as a demonstration of institutional incapacity.
“The National Assembly cannot continue to look away while environmental liabilities multiply and communities suffer,”
