An environmental rights group, We The People (WTP), has called on the federal government and multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to take urgent steps to end gas flaring in the region.
It also called on the government and the companies to address the devastating health, environmental and social consequences that decades of fossil fuel extraction have imposed on frontline communities in the region.
WTP executive director, Ken Henshaw made the call yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital at an event to mark the 2026 World Environment Day.
Henshaw stated that for decades, communities in the Niger Delta have lived in the shadow of gas flare stacks, adding that the flare stacks have become permanent fixtures of the landscape, burning continuously throughout their entire lives.
“As the world marks World Environment Day 2026, We the People is calling for urgent action to end routine gas flaring in the Niger Delta and address the devastating health, environmental, and social consequences that decades of fossil fuel extraction have imposed on frontline communities.
“For decades, communities across the Niger Delta have lived in the shadow of gas flare stacks. Day and night, flames have burned beside homes, schools, farms, rivers, and fishing settlements, releasing methane, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and other pollutants into the atmosphere.
“For many residents, the flare stacks have become permanent fixtures of the landscape, burning continuously throughout their entire lives,” he said.
The WTP director stated that although the Niger Delta remains one of the most resource-rich regions in the world, it has also become one of the regions most burdened by the environmental and social costs of hydrocarbon extraction.
