Iorfa Akpen
Spaces for Change, S4C, in partnership with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, with support from the Ford Foundation, is convening the fifth edition of the National Extractives Dialogue, NED2026, to address environmental challenges confronting oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta.
The two-day dialogue, scheduled for September 29 and 30, 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will be held under the theme, “Remediation Before Divestment and Energy Transition: Amplifying the Bille Environmental Crisis.”
The Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, in a statement she personally signed said the dialogue would bring together more than 150 stakeholders from across the Niger Delta and beyond, including government officials, regulators, civil society organisations, host community representatives, academics and private sector operators.
According to S4C, the event is designed as a high-level, solutions-driven conversation on the future of extractive governance in Nigeria, against the backdrop of accelerated divestment of onshore assets by International Oil Companies, IOCs, and the country’s push towards energy transition.
The organisation said Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, which hosts major oil asset blocks, including Oil Mining Leases, OMLs, 18 and 24, would be central to discussions at the 2026 edition.
It said, “The Nigerian extractive sector is experiencing a massive structural shift marked by accelerated onshore asset divestments by International Oil Companies, IOCs, alongside the strategic push toward a national energy transition.”
S4C, however, said the transition was taking place amid unresolved environmental challenges in several oil-producing communities across the Niger Delta.
It noted that “Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area, Rivers State, host to major asset blocks including Oil Mining Leases OML 18 and OML 24, sits at the centre of this discussion.”
The organisation said reports from affected communities and preliminary field observations had indicated persistent environmental concerns, including reported gas leaks affecting waterways, creeks, residential areas and agricultural livelihoods.
“While technical assessments continue, the people of Bille await the outcome of verified scientific investigations and immediate relief measures, such as access to clean water,” the statement said.
It stressed that resolving the crisis would require “comprehensive technical source-tracing, inter-agency collaboration, and corporate accountability across operating entities.”
The organisation further warned that the ongoing transfer of onshore oil assets from IOCs to domestic operators must not result in the transfer of unresolved environmental liabilities to host communities.
It said, “As Nigeria joins countries across the globe to clamour for energy transition while IOCs transfer onshore assets to domestic operators, concrete steps must be taken to ensure that historical environmental liabilities and remediation obligations are addressed.”
According to S4C, the central premise of NED2026 is that environmental remediation and responsible decommissioning should be addressed before oil assets are transferred to new operators.
“To ensure divestments do not leave communities bearing the burdens of extractive activities, NED 2026 proceeds upon the premise that responsible decommissioning, environmental cleanup, and inter-agency coordination must precede asset transfers and energy transition plans,” it stated.
The organisation said the National Extractives Dialogue had, since its inception, provided a platform for discussions on the challenges surrounding extractive governance in Nigeria and the wider West African region.
It said previous editions had “inspired community-led action, catalysed regulatory reforms, amplified marginalized voices, and deepened public discourse on accountability in the extractive sector.”
S4C said NED2026 would build on the experiences of previous editions by moving beyond identifying problems to developing practical strategies for addressing them.
“NED2025 builds on this legacy by not only raising urgent questions but also offering concrete strategies for reform,” it said.
The organisers also described the 2026 event as a grassroots community conference, stressing that affected communities would have an opportunity to directly engage government agencies, regulators, oil companies, security agencies and civil society organisations.
“The Dialogue is structured as a grassroots community conference, enabling community members from Bille and neighbouring riverine areas to engage directly with regulators, industry operators, security agencies, and civil society to demand transparency and enforce corporate and state responsibility,” the statement said.
