Nigerian Groups Demand Oil Sector Reforms, Transparency

Civil society groups in Nigeria have intensified calls for greater transparency and reform in the management of the country's oil sector, highlighting concerns over multi-billion-naira expenditures on pipeline surveillance contracts and the rebranding of the national oil company. These demands, voiced through recent press conferences in Abuja and an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, underscore ongoing frustrations with inefficiencies, exclusion of host communities, and potential mismanagement in an industry vital to Nigeria's economy.

The United Niger Delta Congress (UNDC) and the United Niger Delta Forum (UNDF), representing various ethnic groups in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, urged the federal government to decentralize pipeline surveillance operations across oil-bearing communities. At a joint press briefing on Friday, UNDC National President Julius Mallam-Obi, alongside convener Fejiro Oliver and National Secretary Hon. Emaluji Michael Sunday, described the current system as unjust and unsustainable. They noted that Nigeria relies heavily on crude oil from the Niger Delta, yet many ethnic nationalities, including the Isoko, Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ndokwa,...