Communiqué Issued by Stakeholders at the Regional Dialogue on the Niger Delta Environmental Cleanup

COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED BY STAKEHOLDERS
AT THE REGIONAL DIALOGUE ON THE NIGER DELTA ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP: ISSUES AND WAY FORWARD

ORGANISED BY THE MIIDEEKOR ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE – MEDI,
13TH AUGUST 2026

GALAXY OSBORNE LA PALM HOTEL, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

We, representatives of affected communities, traditional institutions, civil society organisations, academia, government institutions, environmental advocates, women and youth groups, the media, and other stakeholders, having participated in the Regional Dialogue on the Niger Delta Environmental Cleanup: Issues and Way Forward, convened by Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative -MEDI on 13^th August 2026 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, hereby issue this communiqué.

Following extensive and frank deliberations, we recognise that environmental cleanup in the Niger Delta is not merely a technical exercise. It is an environmental justice, public health, livelihood, climate resilience and development imperative. The region’s interconnected land, rivers, wetlands, mangroves, coastline and communities have suffered decades of oil pollution, gas flaring, habitat destruction, coastal erosion and loss of livelihoods. While the ongoing intervention in Ogoniland is important, the crisis extends across the Niger Delta and requires a coordinated regional response.

RATIONALE

Communities are the first to experience the consequences of environmental pollution, yet they have too often had limited influence over decisions on cleanup, funding, monitoring and verification. Participants stressed that compensation alone cannot restore polluted rivers, farmland, food systems, human health or damaged ecosystems. A credible restoration programme must combine remediation with health support, livelihood recovery, ecosystem restoration, environmental education and measures that prevent further pollution. The dialogue further recognised that climate pressures, including coastal erosion, ocean surge and loss of protective mangroves, are intensifying the risks faced by frontline communities such as Ayetoro and other coastal settlements.

TEN-POINT COMMUNIQUÉ

1. Extend Cleanup Beyond Ogoniland

We call on the federal government to develop and implement a phased, region-wide environmental restoration programme covering polluted communities across the Niger Delta. The experience and lessons from HYPREP should inform, but not limit, a wider regional response. Cleanup should be based on credible environmental assessments, clear standards and measurable results.

2. Make Polluters Pay and Preserve Environmental Liabilities

Oil companies responsible for pollution must remain accountable for their environmental liabilities, including where assets are sold, transferred or divested. No change of ownership should erase responsibility for pollution already caused. Government should enforce the polluter-pays principle in line with applicable Nigerian law and recognised environmental practice.

3. Establish Transparent and Sustainable Financing

Government should provide adequate and predictable funding for environmental restoration while ensuring that responsible companies contribute to the cost of remediation. We call for a transparent Niger Delta Environmental Remediation and Restoration financing mechanism, with public reporting on funds received, contracts awarded, projects delivered and results achieved.

4. Put Communities at the Centre of Cleanup

Affected communities must be active partners, not spectators. They should participate in identifying polluted sites, setting priorities, selecting appropriate approaches, monitoring work and verifying results. Women, youth, persons with disabilities, traditional institutions and other vulnerable groups should be meaningfully represented.

5. Guarantee Transparency, Independent Monitoring and Accountability

Information on polluted sites, cleanup plans, contractors, budgets, timelines, environmental tests and monitoring results should be publicly available in simple and accessible formats. Independent scientific experts, universities, civil society and community monitors should complement government oversight. Poor performance, fraud or failure to meet environmental standards should attract sanctions.

6. Move From Compensation to Restoration and Recovery

Compensation should not be treated as a substitute for environmental cleanup. Restoration must address contaminated land and water as well as air quality, human health, food safety, fisheries, farming, mangroves, biodiversity and livelihoods. Communities that have suffered prolonged harm should receive appropriate remediation, livelihood support and reparative measures.

7. Respond Urgently to Climate and Coastal Risks

The federal government, state governments, NDDC, climate-finance institutions and development partners should urgently assess and respond to communities facing severe coastal erosion, ocean surge and related climate risks. Ayetoro and other frontline communities require urgent, evidence-based shoreline protection, adaptation and, where necessary, safe and dignified relocation support.

8. Prevent New Pollution and Strengthen Regulation

Environmental restoration cannot succeed while new pollution continues. Regulators must strengthen inspection, enforcement, spill response, gas-flaring control, decommissioning oversight and environmental compliance. New extraction activities should not proceed without credible environmental safeguards, and operators must properly decommission facilities and restore sites when operations end.

9. Build a Unified Niger Delta Advocacy Platform

Civil society organisations, communities, traditional institutions, academia and the media should reduce fragmented advocacy and work through a coordinated regional platform and shared action plan. MEDI should facilitate the development of a Niger Delta environmental accountability network that tracks pollution, cleanup progress, costs, commitments and failures and communicates these findings to the public.

10. Make Environmental Cleanup an Electoral and Governance Priority

Ahead of the 2027 elections, stakeholders should demand clear and publicly verifiable environmental commitments from political parties and candidates. The dialogue supports the advocacy message, “No Cleanup, No Vote,” as a peaceful democratic demand for accountable leadership. Candidates should be asked to state their plans, timelines and funding commitments for Niger Delta restoration, while citizens retain the democratic right to assess candidates against their commitments.

IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP

We further call for the adoption of the Niger Delta Environmental Cleanup Accountability Roadmap developed during the dialogue. The roadmap should be converted into a living accountability tool with named responsible institutions and stakeholder groups, clear timelines, indicators, public reporting and periodic review. Progress should be communicated through community meetings, radio, television, social media and other accessible channels. The media, academia and civil society should support independent tracking of commitments and publicly highlight both progress and failure.

We also call for sustained environmental education, especially for young people, so that communities understand the health, livelihood and ecological consequences of pollution and can protect what remains. Universities and research institutions should work more closely with communities and civil society to document environmental damage, assess restoration needs and build local capacity for community-based environmental monitoring and stewardship.

OUR COLLECTIVE CALL

We call on the President and Federal Government of Nigeria, the National Assembly, state governments, NDDC, HYPREP, NOSDRA and other relevant regulatory and development institutions, international oil companies and other operators, development partners, and all responsible actors to treat the restoration of the Niger Delta as an urgent national priority. We urge these institutions to act with transparency, scientific integrity, fairness and respect for the rights and dignity of affected communities.

We, the stakeholders gathered in Port Harcourt, reaffirm our commitment to peaceful, evidence-based and sustained advocacy for environmental justice. We will continue to organise, inform, monitor and demand accountability until polluted lands and waters are restored, livelihoods are rebuilt, communities are heard, and future generations can inherit a Niger Delta in which clean air, safe water, healthy ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods are protected.

CONCLUDING STATEMENT

The Niger Delta has endured decades of environmental degradation, pollution, loss of livelihoods and serious threats to human health and ecosystems. The Dialogue reaffirmed that environmental restoration is not a favour but a right and an urgent national responsibility. Government, oil companies and relevant institutions must move beyond promises to deliver comprehensive, transparent and measurable cleanup that addresses polluted land and water, human health, livelihoods, fisheries, agriculture, biodiversity and climate-related threats. Polluters must be held accountable, while affected communities must be meaningfully involved in planning, monitoring and verifying cleanup activities.

As the region approaches the 2027 elections, environmental justice must remain central to political accountability. Communities, civil society, traditional institutions, women, youth, researchers and the media must sustain collective advocacy and demand clear commitments, timelines and results from political leaders and other stakeholders. The Dialogue therefore calls for the communiqué to serve as a roadmap for action, monitoring and accountability, rather than another document on the shelf. The Niger Delta has given Nigeria enormous wealth; its people deserve clean water, healthy land, safe livelihoods and a secure future. The time for delay is over and the time for restoration, accountability and environmental justice is now.

Issued at Port Harcourt, Rivers State
13 August 2026

Stakeholder Organisations

1. Voices for Change
2. Indigenous Language and Cultural Empowerment Foundation (ILACEF)
3. Community Resource Development Foundation (CREDEF)
4. The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria)
5. BudgiT Foundation
6. Habi Care Foundation (HCF)
7. Quest For Growth and Development Foundation
8. Environmental Conservation Agriculture and Rural Development (ECARD)
9. Peace Point Development Foundation – PPDF
10. Social Action
11. KEBETKACHE Women Development and Resource Centre
12. Centre for Ecological Leadership and Development (CELD)
13. Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
14. Women Forum for Sustainable Green Development
15. Hope for Tomorrow Initiative (HOFTI Centre)
16. Jaiye Gaskiya, Center For Transformative Governance (CFTG)
17. ALA-Uchi Women Development Initiative (AWDI)
18. Rivers State Ministry of Environment
19. Prof Mbalisi Onyeka Festus (University of Port Harcourt)
20. SDN
21. RADEC
22. OILWATCH
23. Media Awareness and Justice Initiative
24. Peace Actions for Sustainable Environment & Development (PASED) Foundation
25. We The People
26. Traditional Institution