Worried by the perennial adverse impact of gas flares on their well being, setting and financial system, girls from the oil producing communities of Ibeno and Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday, signed a declaration for the worldwide oil firms to cease gas flares of their communities.
During a Town Hall assembly tagged “Strategies to End Gas Flaring in Akwa Ibom,” organized by Policy Alert in collaboration with Global Green Grant funds and attended by authorities officers and stakeholders, the ladies took a stand towards gas flaring by signing a declaration calling on International Oil Companies (IOCs) to stop this apply of their communities.
Represented by distinguished leaders equivalent to Lady Apostle Cecilia John Ikot, Essien Kokomma Eshiet, and Rhoda Peter, the ladies described gas flaring as a severe risk to their livelihoods.
They famous that it releases dangerous gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the setting, exacerbating local weather change impacts of their speedy communities.
The antagonistic results of gas flaring, as famous by the ladies, included air air pollution, water contamination, decreased agricultural productiveness, and extreme impacts on sexual and reproductive well being, together with circumstances of impotency, infertility, and beginning issues of their communities.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the Nigerian authorities’s lack of ability to satisfy earlier gas flare-out targets, regardless of presently striving in direction of a 2030 deadline as a signatory to the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, the ladies known as for a assessment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
They sought to strengthen the environmental regulation roles of related companies just like the National Oil Spill Detection and Regulatory Agency (NOSDRA) and the Federal Ministry of Environment, whose roles had been diminished by the Act. The girls known as for funding in a cleaner and extra sustainable setting.
The Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Uno Etim, represented by the Director of Mineral Resources, Mrs. Emem Imo Ibokette, acknowledged the severity of gas flaring in Ibeno and inspired neighborhood unity of their marketing campaign towards this subject. She assured the ladies of the State Ministry’s willingness to collaborate and provide needed assist to handle their issues.
On his half, the Executive Director of Policy Alert, Mr. Tijah-Bolton Akpan, expressed remorse that the problem of “end to gas flaring” continues to be a subject of dialogue in 2023.
He described gas flaring as unlawful and an pointless waste of invaluable financial assets. Mr. Akpan revealed the “Wethinwomengain” mission initiated by Policy Alert, geared toward empowering girls throughout oil and gas communities to advocate towards gas flaring.
