….Advocates stringent penalties for gas-flaring
….Seeks establishment of court for environmental issues
By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT— Former Minister of Petroleum and Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Ajumogobia, SAN, has said Niger Delta is suffering from lack of implementation and enforcement of laws.

Ajumogobia noted that if laws were properly implemented, that issues relating to gas-flaring, underdevelopment bedeviling the region would be tackled.

Ajumogobia spoke in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, during the NDDC Law and Development Summit, 2026.

The former minister, who was the keynote speaker said: “A few critical points. The Niger Delta is not suffering from a lack of law. It’s suffering from a failure of legal governance.

“So, what must change? First, host communities must no longer be passive observers. They must become true stakeholders in petroleum operations. This requires enforceable participation rights, fair revenue sharing and meaningful inclusion in decision-making processes that only law can introduce and sustain.

“Second, environmental law must be strengthened. We need strict liability for pollution. We need reinforcement of cleanup obligations with strict deadlines.”

He advocated the establishment of environmental courts in states of the region to handle issues relating to oil exploration and pollution.

He said: “We need environmental courts with real authority, because without consequences, there is no compliance. Third, gas flaring must end, not in rhetoric, but in law.

“It should be prohibited absolutely with stringent penalties that deter violation, not tolerated. And here, I’m talking about routine gas flaring.

“Fourth, the resource and this is perhaps the key. Resource governance must be decentralised. Over-centralisation, as I said in my opening remarks, the focus of centralising control in the central government has not served the Niger Delta.

“Over-centralisation has disconnected communities from their own resources. And that disconnect has fuelled mistrust, conflict and under development.

“Transparency must be non-negotiable. Petroleum revenues, contracts and community funds must be open to scrutiny because secrecy, secrecy is the breeding ground of corruption.

“It must be systemic. And finally, diversification. The Niger Delta is not only oil. It is agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and blue economy. But these sectors require legal and policy support to thrive.

“Let me conclude with this thought. The Niger Delta paradox that I began with is not inevitable. It is not geographical destiny. It is not cultural limitation. It is fundamentally a governance outcome. And governance is shaped by law.”

Also, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the commission, as a flagship interventionist agency in the region, has the statutory mandate to facilitate the sustainable development of the Niger Delta, as enshrined in the NDDC Establishment Act.

Ogbuku said sustainable development for the region was not just about infrastructure, brick and mortar, but entails a balanced integration of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection for the long term well-being of the region.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, 7th Governing Board of NDDC, Chiedu Ebie, noted that the region needs a legal framework to benefit from resources in its environment.

Ebie said the summit was convened with the objective to bring together the finest legal minds and most experienced development practitioners to explore how law can be deployed, reformed, and innovated to accelerate sustainable development in the region.