Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Monday joined former President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders to reflect on the costs and benefits of oil exploration in the Niger Delta, calling on stakeholders to chart a better future for the region.
The leaders spoke at the opening of the 2026 Sweet Crude Dialogue held at the Conference Centre of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board Towers in Yenagoa.
The Sweet Crude Dialogue, themed “Through the Python’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil and Gas Production in Nigeria,” brought together industry players, academics and top government functionaries.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, Mr Doubara Atasi, said the chief host, Diri, represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, decried the level of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and called on well-meaning organisations to work towards achieving justice for the region.
Quoting the report of the defunct Archbishop John Sentamu-led Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, the governor said about 13 million barrels of crude were spilt in the region between 1958, when Nigeria made its first shipment of crude, and 2010.
Describing the commission’s findings as “sobering,” he said the chairman described what had happened to the state as “nothing short of an environmental genocide.”
The governor therefore urged De Mangrove Conversations and other environmental advocacy groups to collaborate with the government to ensure the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.
He said, “The State Government has embraced the Commission’s findings, and the Governor has asked me to reaffirm, in the clearest terms, this administration’s commitment to environmental justice, the remediation of our lands and waters, the restoration of livelihoods, and a just energy transition in which the communities that bore the burdens of the oil age are not abandoned at its close.
“A report of such weight must not remain on the shelf, and government cannot carry this responsibility alone.
“The Bayelsa State Government, therefore, calls on De Mangrove Conversations and all environmental advocacy organizations, especially those working across the Niger Delta, to align their efforts with the implementation of the recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission.”
In his remarks as chairman of the occasion, former President Jonathan said Nigeria could only make appreciable progress in the oil industry if most of the requirements for oil production were sourced locally.
He noted that merely exporting crude oil would not lead to economic diversification or sufficient job creation.
“If we cannot develop or produce some of these things used in the oil industry within the country, we will not achieve anything significant in the oil industry. It is not just about selling crude oil.
“Yes, we earn money from that, but that does not diversify the economy and create enough jobs. What will diversify your economy is the industrial aspects of the operations of the oil industry.
“That’s why I am happy with the local content board law my administration enacted in 2010 and the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021. With these two pieces of legislation and if they are followed to the letter, with amendments where necessary, I believe things will be much better,” Jonathan said.
Delivering the keynote address, Professor of Comparative Petroleum and International Law and Policy, Prof. Ibibia Worika, said 70 years of oil production had generated unprecedented wealth for Nigeria but also exposed structural weaknesses in governance.
Worika added that the Niger Delta, which bears the brunt of oil production, has little to show for its contribution, stressing that environmental justice for the region is “a constitutional, moral and developmental imperative.”
According to him, “Instead of serving as a catalyst for economic diversification, petroleum gradually replaced agriculture, weakened manufacturing and encouraged dependency on resource rents.
“The Niger Delta has always borne the burden of oil production. The tragedy of the Niger Delta reminds us that development cannot be measured by revenue generation alone, and that development must necessarily improve the well-being of the people as well as protect the environment,” he said.
The Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by his Chief of Staff, Prince Johnson Erijo, was among those who delivered goodwill messages at the two-day event.
The dialogue also featured a plenary session with panellists including the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, represented by Pastor James Oworibo; National Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Dr Godknows Igali, represented by Prof. Stephen Olali; Vice-Chancellor of Bayelsa Medical University, Prof. Dimie Ogoina; Prof. Ibaba Samuel Ibaba of Niger Delta University; and Managing Director of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Ogbe, represented by Barr. Esueme Kikile.
The session was moderated by Professor of Nuclear Engineering and former Director-General of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Prof. Franklin Osaisai.
