IV 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 121 

Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world’s important 

wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should be protected and its recovery and economic development a priority. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2012 

Mr. RUSH (for himself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) submitted the following 

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world’s 

important wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the 

Niger Delta should be protected and its recovery and 

economic development a priority. 

Whereas Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, its largest 

producer of oil and its second largest economy, is a major 

source of United States oil imports and a key ally in the 

region; 

Whereas despite its extensive hydrocarbon resources, which 

account for 80 percent of government revenues, Nigeria 

faces serious social and economic challenges, including 

extreme income inequality and high unemployment rates; 

Whereas Nigeria’s economic growth rate is among the highest 

in Sub-Saharan Africa, but its human development indimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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cators remain low, with more than half the population living on less than $1 a day; 

Whereas the International Monetary Fund reports that 

progress on Nigerian efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty has been slow; 

Whereas successive governments have pursued ambitious reforms since the country’s return to civilian rule and 

through such efforts Nigeria was deemed compliant with 

the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) 

in 2011; 

Whereas Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta region has been the 

backbone of Nigeria’s economy in recent decades, with oil 

and gas extraction there accounting for over 95 percent 

of Nigeria’s export earnings; 

Whereas despite having the largest natural gas reserves in 

Africa, an estimated one-third of Nigerian natural gas is 

burned during oil drilling due to a lack of infrastructure, 

placing the country second in the world, after Russia, in 

gas flaring, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association; 

Whereas deadlines for oil companies to stop flaring gas at oil 

wells, estimated at roughly one-third of annual production and $2,500,000,000 in lost revenue, have repeatedly 

been postponed, most recently to December 2012; 

Whereas the Niger Delta is well-endowed with other natural 

resources beyond hydrocarbons, including water, timber 

and other forest resources, wildlife, and various species of 

aquatic organisms, and the Niger Delta is one of the 

world’s largest wetlands; 

Whereas oil production in the Delta has caused significant 

harm to the area’s fragile riverine ecosystem and to the 

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livelihoods of the region’s inhabitants, 30,000,000 inhabitants, including minority ethnic groups like Ogoni, who 

have received international attention for their efforts to 

highlight the extensive environmental damage; 

Whereas by some estimates, over 500,000,000 gallons of oil, 

nearly the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year 

for 50 years, have been spilled in the Niger Delta since 

oil production began in Nigeria, limiting locals’ access to 

clean water and largely destroying fishing stocks, while 

gas flares from the oil wells contribute to acid rain and 

air pollution; 

Whereas oil contamination in Ogoniland is widespread, according to a study conducted by the United Nations Environment Program, with wells used for drinking water 

measuring high levels of carcinogens; 

Whereas for example of most immediate concern, community 

members at Nisisioken Ogale in Ogoni land are drinking 

water from wells that are contaminated with benzene, a 

known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above the 

World Health Organization (WHO) guideline; 

Whereas the study determined that it may take 25 to 30 

years to restore the environment; 

Whereas Nigeria’s oil wealth has also contributed to longstanding political tensions, protest, and criminality in the 

Delta, feeding recruitment by various vigilante and armed 

groups and hindering both oil production and regional development; 

Whereas corruption and nonrespect for rule of law at multiple levels of government, business, environmental oversight, and community relations, is the number one cause 

that permeates the activities of the Niger Delta that 

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cause problems to remain unsolved, regardless of the 

verbal pledges and recriminations that occur on an ongoing basis; 

Whereas in 2009, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua extended an offer of amnesty to Delta militants, pledging 

pardons and rehabilitation in exchange for disarmament 

and demobilization, and, by Government of Nigeria estimates, almost 20,200 self-declared militants accepted the 

offer and demobilized, bringing relative calm to the region and allowing oil output to increase; 

Whereas the Presidential Amnesty and rehabilitation program, which includes job training and social reintegration 

for ex-militants, offers a new opportunity for peace in the 

restive region, provided that the Government of Nigeria 

delivers on promised infrastructure improvements and job 

creation; 

Whereas the United States has been supportive of the Government of Nigeria’s reform initiatives, including not only 

the programs to promote peace and development in the 

Niger Delta, but also anticorruption efforts, economic 

and electoral reforms, and energy sector privatization; 

and 

Whereas in 2010, the United States and Nigeria established 

the United States-Nigeria Binational Commission, a strategic dialogue to address issues of mutual concern: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) as one of the world’s important wetland and 

4 coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should 

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1 be protected and its recovery and economic develop2 ment a priority; 

3 (2) all the stakeholders in the Niger Delta oil 

4 and gas industry, the Nigerian federal, state, and 

5 local governments, oil and gas companies, and other 

6 private sector actors, civil society, and the local com7 munity, including youth, women, and faith-based 

8 leaders, with input from the United States Govern9 ment when requested, should work together to collec10 tively address the environmental impact of oil and 

11 gas production in the Niger Delta by— 

12 (A) urgently providing relief and assistance 

13 to those affected by oil spills in the region; 

14 (B) urgently ensuring that oil pollution is 

15 cleaned up as a matter of urgency, in line with 

16 international good practice, and subject to inde17 pendent verification, and take all necessary 

18 steps to prevent further oil spills by equipment 

19 failure, sabotage, oil bunkering, or illegal refin20 ing; 

21 (C) enforcing zero tolerance policy on cor22 ruption; 

23 (D) respecting and adhering to the rule of 

24 law as a fundamental requirement of all players 

25 in regards to operations, oversight and involvemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ment in the activities, governance, business, en2 vironmental protection, and citizens’ engage3 ment and entitlements with respect to the Niger 

4 Delta; 

5 (E) ensuring robust, independent, and co6 ordinated monitoring of the petroleum industry; 

7 (F) establishing a committee to monitor 

8 the environmental and social impact of the oil 

9 industry, hold regular sessions on the activities 

10 of multinational companies in the Niger Delta, 

11 discuss any impact of their practices, and make 

12 recommendations on how to address them; 

13 (G) promoting investments in the region 

14 that contribute to job creation for the Delta’s 

15 underemployed youth and provide alternative 

16 livelihoods for those affected by oil pollution; 

17 (H) developing an effective and com18 prehensive plan to prevent any further oil spills, 

19 in line with United Nations Environment Pro20 gram recommendations, that is fully consistent 

21 with Nigeria’s human rights’ obligations and in 

22 consultation with affected communities and be 

23 implemented transparently with local commu24 nities’ full and active participation; 

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1 (I) developing an action plan to address il2 legal oil trade, bunkering, and building a 

3 stronger Gulf of Guinea Energy and Security 

4 Strategy (GGESS) to tackle the cause, crime, 

5 and violence in the Niger Delta and the entire 

6 region; and 

7 (J) conducting a campaign to— 

8 (i) end corruption and illegal oil re9 lated activities by including an awareness 

10 component highlighting the disproportion11 ate environmental footprint of artisanal re12 fining and design training, employment, 

13 and livelihood incentives that will encour14 age people away from participating in this 

15 illegal activity; and 

16 (ii) educate the community on the 

17 public safety, risk, and danger in drinking 

18 contaminated water; 

19 (3) the international oil and gas companies with 

20 operations in the Niger Delta region should— 

21 (A) make a clear public commitment to ad22 dressing pollution and its human rights’ im23 pacts, promptly, transparently, and in consulta24 tion with key stakeholders, particularly affected 

25 communities; and 

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1 (B) improve the control, maintenance, and 

2 decommissioning of oilfield infrastructure and 

3 apply industry best practices and international 

4 standards for public safety; 

5 (4) the United States Government should— 

6 (A) increase engagement with, and support 

7 of, the Government of Nigeria to ensure inde8 pendent oversight of the oil industry and to in9 crease access to effective remedy for people 

10 whose rights are affected by oil operations in 

11 the Niger Delta; 

12 (B) increase engagement with, and support 

13 of, the Government of Nigeria in improving ac14 cess to effective remedy for people whose rights 

15 are affected by oil operations in the Niger 

16 Delta; 

17 (C) assist the Government of Nigeria to 

18 implement the United Nations Environment 

19 Program (UNEP) in depth Ogoniland oil as20 sessment report which provides clear oper21 ational recommendations for addressing the 

22 widespread oil pollution across Ogoniland; and 

23 (D) assist the Government of Nigeria in 

24 tackling illegal oil trade, bunkering, and buildmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ing a stronger Gulf of Guinea Energy and Se2 curity Strategy (GGESS); and 

3 (5) the Government of Nigeria should— 

4 (A) establish a Commission of Inquiry to 

5 investigate companies’ compliance with environ6 mental legislation and regulations in the Niger 

7 Delta, assess actual losses, make recommenda8 tions for improving compliance with Nigerian 

9 regulations, and report publicly on all findings; 

10 (B) ensure enforcement of the national and 

11 international regulatory system and impose ef12 fective penalties when regulations are not fol13 lowed; 

14 (C) ensure that Nigerian petroleum regula15 tions address the social and human rights’ im16 pacts of the oil industry and include an assess17 ment of the potential impacts on human health, 

18 including access to clean water and livelihoods, 

19 meaningful consultation with communities, and 

20 greater transparency and access to information 

21 for affected communities; 

22 (D) amend laws on compensation to ensure 

23 that any sums awarded are fair and adequate, 

24 and cover long-term impacts, health issues, and 

25 all other reasonable damages; 

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1 (E) amend the laws regulating the petro2 leum industry to ensure that they address the 

3 social and human rights’ impacts of the indus4 try, that they include a mandatory assessment 

5 of the potential impacts on human health and 

6 that environmental regulations are clarified to 

7 enhance the remediation process; 

8 (F) make public information about the im9 pact of oil operations on the environment and 

10 human rights, to include companies’ oil spill 

11 contingency plans, the Niger Delta Environ12 mental Survey, and all information regarding 

13 oil spills, any environmental impact assessments 

14 related to oil companies’ infrastructure and op15 erations, the Environmental Evaluation Report, 

16 and any post impact assessments; 

17 (G) encourage the Nigerian Parliament to 

18 pass the Petroleum Energy Bill that increases 

19 transparency, establishes a fair sharing mecha20 nism for oil and gas revenues with federal, oil21 producing countries, protects the environment 

22 with better wetland conservation, encourages 

23 the use of clean technology equipment, allows 

24 diversification of energy production, and builds 

25 the region’s sustainable economy; and 

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1 (H) arrest and prosecute those involved in 

2 corrupted, illegal, and oil bunkering activities 

3 and artisanal refineries. 

Æ 

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