Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has embarked on training oil host community members on methods of fostering a united front in seeking environmental justice from oil multinationals.

Following the alleged divide-and-rule tactics often used by most International Oil Companies (IOCs) to evade the capability of environmental crimes, HOMEF said it was imperative for communities to focus on forming solidarity against such a plot.

Programme Manager of HOMEF, Stephen Oduwari, who spoke to newsmen in Eteo Community in Eleme Local Council of Rivers State, at the weekend, said the training was aimed to reflect on certain aspects of what community people should know, so as to come together to push for a healthy, clean and deserving environment.

He said: “There had been a series of oil spills in the Eteo community and it calls for serious action. This is because most of these oil-ravaged communities pay heavy price for oil exploration and exploitation. They pay with their health and livelihoods because they have been bombarded from the air with gas flaring, from the land pollution in their farms and pollution in their water.

So they have lost a lot. This has reduced the life expectancy of people living in this region. So, the idea is to build community power for resilience and in solidarity to amplify their voices.”

Also, the coordinator of OilWatch Nigeria, Kentebe Ebiaridor, who emphasised the relevance of the training, noted that in most communities in the Niger Delta, the IOCs employed the divide-and-rule tactics to cover up crimes, while expressing optimism that by such training, the community members would stand together and kick against such ploy.

Ebiaridor said: “We centre our discussion around solidarity, looking at how to strengthen community relationships and all ties to see how the word solidarity can make meaning to them in their everyday lives. This, for us, is very important because it brings about unity in the community.”