Chairman of the Niger Delta Environmental Justice Lawyers’ Network, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, has challenged presidential candidates to make the Niger Delta part of their agenda, demanding clear commitments on oil pollution, environmental restoration and development of communities in the region.
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Speaking on Nigeria’s Independence anniversary, he said it was ironic that presidential candidates seeking to lead the country rarely addressed the condition of the Niger Delta, despite the region’s contribution to the nation’s oil resources.
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He said: “If 90 per cent of our resources, our oil money, flows out of the Niger Delta, why is it that no presidential candidate talks about the region?”
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‎According to him, candidates should explain what they intend to do for communities that, despite contributing to the country’s resources, still lack basic amenities such as clean water, schools, toilets and roads.

‎Agbakoba said Nigeria does not lack reports on the environmental and developmental problems in the Niger Delta, citing reports by Amnesty International, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Bayelsa Commission, among others.
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‎He said what is needed is not another report or temporary intervention but an action-driven presidential agenda capable of producing visible changes in the region.
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”We want a presidential agenda that is action-driven, from day one. Within 100 days, people in Niger Delta can feel the difference,” he said.
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Agbakoba identified pollution and access to clean water as among the most urgent challenges facing communities in the region, saying some waterways had remained polluted for decades.
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‎”One of the biggest challenges in the Niger Delta is dirty water. It’s polluted. Some have been polluted for the last 50 years. Nothing has happened,” he said.
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‎He called for the cleanup of polluted creeks and waterways and the replacement of old oil pipelines, arguing that such interventions would benefit entire communities rather than serve as palliatives.
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‎He also called on presidential candidates to hold oil companies and regulatory agencies accountable, saying communities should first be asked to identify their needs before interventions are designed.