Tinubu, NASS Urged to Immediately Take Action Against ‘Misuse’ of Gas Flaring Funds
- Environmental groups urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to review Executive Order 9 over gas flaring penalties
- Comrade Itsede Victor, speaking for the coalition, criticised the treatment of gas flaring fines as government revenue
- The coalition called for all penalty funds to be directed to remediation and development in Niger Delta communities
FCT, Abuja - A coalition of environmental organisations has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently revisit Executive Order 9, warning that penalties imposed for gas flaring are being wrongly treated as government income rather than tools to curb environmental harm.
The appeal was made on Friday at a World Press Conference held in Abuja, where the groups argued that the current handling of gas flaring penalties undermines environmental justice, particularly in oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta.
Source: Original
Penalties should deter pollution, not raise revenue
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Comrade Itsede Victor criticised the continued remittance of gas flaring penalties into the Federation Account, describing it as unfair to communities that suffer the health and environmental consequences of routine gas flaring.
“The central question before the nation is this: Should gas flaring penalties serve as a deterrent against environmental destruction, or should they continue to function as a source of government revenue?” Victor asked.
He stressed that residents of the Niger Delta have endured decades of exposure to toxic emissions from oil and gas activities, with little relief or compensation.
Health and environmental risks highlighted
The coalition drew attention to scientific findings linking gas flaring to the release of harmful substances such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
According to the groups, prolonged exposure to these pollutants has been associated with respiratory illnesses, cancers, skin diseases, reproductive health challenges, acid rain, soil degradation, water pollution, biodiversity loss and declining agricultural output.
Despite Nigeria’s public commitments to reduce gas flaring, the organisations noted that the country remains among the world’s leading gas-flaring nations, blaming weak enforcement and ineffective penalties for the persistence of the practice.
Legal framework cited in appeal
Under Executive Order 9, gas flaring penalties paid by oil and gas companies are remitted into the Federation Account through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.). The coalition argued that this approach effectively turns environmental violations into a revenue stream, while affected communities see little or no remediation.
They also referenced a 2019 Supreme Court ruling which affirmed that the right to a clean and healthy environment is inseparable from the right to life, adding that citizens and civil society groups have the legal standing to hold polluters accountable.
In addition, the organisations cited provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, including Section 104, which restricts gas flaring except under legally approved conditions, and Section 52(14), which directs that gas flare penalties be applied to gas infrastructure development and community projects.
Concerns over enforcement and fund management
The coalition expressed concern over reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and National Assembly oversight committees, which have pointed to persistent arbitrary flaring, high default rates in penalty payments, delayed remittances and weak enforcement.
They further alleged that significant portions of gas flare penalty funds have remained with the Central Bank of Nigeria for years, warning that distributing such funds nationally rather than deploying them in affected areas unfairly shifts the burden of pollution onto victim communities.
Calls for immediate action
The groups urged President Tinubu to take two immediate steps: remove gas flaring penalties from the Federation Account and ensure that all existing and future penalty funds are channelled strictly towards environmental clean-up, health interventions, poverty reduction and sustainable development in the Niger Delta.
“Gas flaring penalties must serve their true purpose as deterrents. Penalising pollution must never become a business model,” the coalition said.
They added that lasting peace in the region remains uncertain without visible environmental justice, calling on the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to prioritise the wellbeing of oil-producing communities.
Source: Legit.ng
