Environmentalists Urge Action Against Misuse Of Gas Flaring Funds

A coalition of environmental organisations has advised President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently review Executive Order 9, warning that penalties imposed for gas flaring were being wrongly treated as government revenue rather than as deterrent against environmental violations.

The appeal was made at a news conference yesterday in Abuja, where the coalition argued that the current handling of gas flaring penalties undermines environmental justice, particularly in oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Comrade Itsede Victor described the continued remittance of gas flaring penalties into the Federation Account as a fundamental injustice to host communities that bear 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.

The organisations highlighted decades of exposure by Niger Delta residents to toxic emissions from oil and gas operations.

They cited scientific evidence linking gas flaring to pollutants such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter—substances associated with respiratory illnesses, cancers, skin diseases, reproductive health complications, acid rain, soil degradation, water contamination, biodiversity loss, and declining agricultural productivity.

Despite Nigeria’s commitments to reducing gas flaring, the coalition noted that the country remains among the top gas-flaring nations globally, largely due to weak enforcement and ineffective penalty mechanisms.

Under Executive Order 9, penalties imposed on oil and gas companies are remitted into the Federation Account through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.).

The groups argued that this arrangement effectively converts environmental violations into government income, while affected communities receive little or no remediation.

They referenced a 2019 Supreme Court ruling affirming that the right to a clean and healthy environment is inseparable from the right to life and that citizens and civil society organisations have legal standing to hold polluters accountable.

The coalition also cited provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, particularly Section 104, which prohibits gas flaring except under legally permitted conditions, and Section 52(14), which mandates that gas flare penalty funds be applied to gas infrastructure development and community projects.

Expressing concern over reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and National Assembly oversight committees, the groups pointed to persistent arbitrary gas flaring, high default rates in penalty payments, delayed remittances, and weak enforcement mechanisms.

They warned that any executive action redirecting gas flare penalties away from their legally mandated purpose without legislative approval would contravene existing law and undermine constitutional processes.

The coalition further alleged that significant portions of gas flare penalty funds have been held by the Central Bank of Nigeria for years, adding that distributing such funds nationally rather than deploying them in affected communities places the burden of pollution on victims while benefits are shared elsewhere.

The groups urged the president to take two immediate actions: remove gas flaring penalties from funds remitted into the Federation Account and ensure that all accrued and future penalty funds are dedicated exclusively to environmental remediation, 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 stressed that sustainable peace in the region remains fragile without visible environmental justice and called on the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to prioritise the welfare of oil-producing communities.