Nigeria: Oil spill legislation

 

According to GLOBE International, Senator A. Bukola Saraki, Chair of the Committee on Environment and Ecology of the National Assembly, has introduced a bill to amend the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Act (NOSDRA) 2006. The amendment seeks to:

• Strengthen the institutional and regulatory capacity of NOSDRA to proactively manage oil spills in a much more robust and effective manner,
• creating a clear and specific regime of penalties and responsibilities for oil spills
• providing a consistent guide and procedure for assessing and accessing compensation for oil spill and other civil liabilities.

With an estimated 13 million -16 million barrels of oil spilled in the Niger Delta over the past 50 years, this legislation would strengthen the governance and penalty system.
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