Mr Sheriff Mulade, National Coordinator, Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has appealed to the Federal Government and multinational oil companies to support to save Niger Delta environment.
Mulade made the appeal on Saturday when he led journalists and environment experts on a campaign tour to Ogulaha community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta.
The campaign was to mark the 2017 World Earth Day.
“As the world celebrates World Earth Day, there is need for people of oil-bearing communities to be aware of the dangers in pipeline vandalism, illegal refining, gas flaring and other human activities that pollute the environment.
“Environmental abuse anywhere in the world is a threat to all humanity; environment is our heritage and therefore, we must protect and preserve it for our future,” he said.
Mulade said that gas flaring had been a major cause of death in oil-bearing communities and urged government to do everything possible to end the menace.
He also said that the 13 per cent derivation being received by States in Niger Delta should be used to build modular refineries rather than waiting for investors to come and do it.
In his remarks, Chairman of Ogulagha community, Mr Solomon Prebor, decried the level of poverty in the community in spite of the volume of oil exploration in the community.
“We produce about 10, 000 barrels of oil per day here and there is nothing to show for it.
“We have made several appeals to the Federal Government and the oil companies to develop our communities for us all but to no avail,” he said.
Prebor, however, appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the community through development.
The Woman Leader in the community, Mrs Veronica Wednesday, said that gas flaring had affected fishing, their only means of livelihood.
“We are having problems with our vision because of gas flaring; even when we go to the river to kill fish, the fishes are contaminated,” she said. (NAN)