Groups raise alarm over toxic air in the Niger Delta

A group of Environmental rights advocates and civil society organisations have raised alarm over the deteriorating air quality in the Niger Delta.

They declared that every resident in Port Harcourt and surrounding areas is “involuntarily smoking” due to unchecked pollution from fossil fuel activities.

They made the statement during a stakeholders’ consultation forum organised by the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative in Port Harcourt last weekend, the Punch reports.

Executive Director of MAJI, Mr. Okoro Emmanuel Onyekachi, said the organisation is working to collect and analyze pollution data across rural and urban communities to develop a baseline document that will serve as a foundation for policy advocacy and capacity building.

Onyekachi said the forum was put together to strengthening the use of environmental data to advance climate justice in Nigeria.

He stated, “If change must be tracked, you must understand baseline. We plan to collect all the data we can and use it to develop a baseline document. The findings will guide technical training, interactive sessions, and environmental governance reforms.”

Onyekachi emphasized that residents in Rivers State are living with severe consequences of fossil fuel pollution.

“In fact, everyone living in Port Harcourt should be worried about the air quality because we all are smokers in Rivers State. We live with the impacts of fossil fuel from production, artisanal refining, gas flaring, vehicular movement, and machinery — a multiplicity of impacts.” he warned.

He described pollution patterns as varying between rural and urban areas, saying, “In rural areas, pollution levels differ. Some places have high levels due to oil activities; others have moderate exposure.

But in urban areas, pollution is consistent due to increased vehicular traffic and machinery powered by fossil fuels.”

The MAJI Executive Director therefore called on government and health authorities to act to stem the unfortunate trend.