The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is implacably committed and determined to enforce all environmental laws, regulations and guidelines in Nigeria’s critical petroleum industry.
This was made known by the Director-General/ Chief Executive (DG/CE) OF NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, when a team from Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) paid him a courtesy visit at the Agency’s Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
Earlier, the Executive Director of OPTS, Mr. Gwueke Ajaifia, said part of the essence of the visit was to convey the congratulations of the members on his recent appointment as the DG/CE of NOSDRA, stressing that the remarkable feat was a reflection of the government’s confidence in him, while wishing him a successful tenure in office.
Mr. Ajaifa disclosed that the visit was also meant to engage and introduce members to the DG/CE, apart from exploring areas of cooperation with the association, which is a collection of 25 indigenous oil companies and five foreign-owned operators in the country.
He said OPTS had been committed to giving environmental conservation in the petroleum industry a pride of place, hence its quest for a cordial relationship with NOSDRA, which, according to him, occupies a central position among the regulatory bodies in the oil and gas industry by virtue of its statutory mandate as a lead agency in environmental management of pollution matters in the country.
While highlighting the key challenges facing the organisation, including pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, insecurity and multiple taxations, Mr. Ajaifa acknowledged NOSDRA as a key ally in ensuring conducive atmosphere in regulations to safeguard the environment in the industry on the bases of acceptable standards and best international practice in order to attract investment.
The DG/CE of NOSDRA, while appreciating the congratulatory message and best wishes on his appointment from the OPTS team, expressed the opinion that NOSDRA, over the years, had experienced robust cooperation with the association.
Assuring that his agency could not give the OPTS anything less, he expressed hope in significant improvement on the working relationship between the two organisations.
According to him, “As a major stakeholder, we have no option than to work in partnership with your association”.
The DG/CE stated that while the overall goal was to ensure maximum production of oil and gas to promote robust economic growth in the country, the centrality of ensuring environmental sustainably in the industry, which is the mandate of NOSDRA, could not be underscored.
He berated the non-challant attitude of certain members of OPTS in honouring invitation from the agency about complaints from host communities regarding oil pollution matters.
According to him, as an agency, we have a complain to lay on the level of neglect on some of your members about rebuffing invitations from the agency on issues dealing with host communities regarding oil pollution.
He said the closest agency when such happened was NOSDRA, but when oil companies ignored invitations on spills, such could escalate tension with communities, apart from attracting sanction from the regulatory authourity.
The DG/CE warned that under his watch, ignoring invitations from NOSDRA would no longer be condoned from defaulting oil companies.
He made an appeal to OPTS to embark on community enlightenment and sensitization for host communities on petroleum industry crimes, including pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, stressing that this was key and effective means of addressing such crimes and fostering social peace in oil-bearing communities.
The DG/CE noted that the present challenges in the nation’s petroleum industry, particularly crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, were not envisaged when the Act setting up NOSDRA was articulated, hence the seemingly insuperable difficulty to address oil spills caused by third party intervention or sabotage.
While stating that the present administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu was working tirelessly to plug the loopholes in regulating enforcement to tackle such challenges head-on, apart from strengthening inter-agency task force to address crude oil theft and the like, he expressed hope that closer cooperation and collaboration among critical stakeholders, including NOSDRA, oil companies and host communities, would also go a long way in coming to grips with such challenges.
