By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa
Veteran governance and environmental rights advocate, Iniruo Wills, has urged presidential and governorship candidates in the 2027 general elections to present clear and concrete plans for addressing decades of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta or risk losing the region’s votes.
Wills, a former two-time Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Environment, made the call in an interview with Vanguard in Yenagoa.
He spoke against the backdrop of the unveiling of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi’s campaign agenda, which focuses on security, economic recovery, healthcare, education and national unity, but contains no explicit reference to a comprehensive cleanup of the Niger Delta.
Wills described the omission as a major oversight that could affect the candidate’s support in the region if not addressed.
“There is obviously no Niger Deltan in PO’s strategy team,” he said.
“Any presidential candidate that has no explicit concrete plan for the region, including a Niger Delta-wide environmental cleanup, should be rejected by the region.”
Wills, who has consistently advocated against environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, urged those close to Obi to draw his attention to the concerns of the region.
“He cannot tell us he has been touring the country for six to eight years now and does not know the cardinal demands of some of the regions. No more papaye in our elections,” he said, using the local expression to criticise what he described as superficial campaign promises.
The environmental rights advocate, who had previously criticised Niger Delta governors, ministers and senators over their handling of environmental pollution in the region, called on political candidates to embark on genuine listening campaigns and community-based consultations before finalising their manifestoes.
“Principal candidates, presidential and gubernatorial, should learn to do a listening campaign, or real and felt people or community-based consultations, before they roll out their manifestoes on a roadshow,” he said.
Wills extended the call to all major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He urged the parties to present specific and credible plans for cleaning up polluted communities in the Niger Delta if they wanted the support of voters in the region.
“Only such candidates should be voted for in 2027. No Niger Delta Cleanup, no vote for you or your party,” Wills declared.
He described the position as a “Civil Society Campaign Challenge for 2027”, with the slogan, “No Cleanup, No Vote.”
Wills also called on traditional rulers, civil society organisations and community leaders to mobilise voters across the nine oil-producing states to support only candidates who make credible commitments to addressing environmental degradation in the region.
He described decades of oil pollution, gas flaring and ecological degradation in the Niger Delta as “ecocide”, arguing that the scale and duration of the environmental damage required stronger political accountability from successive administrations.
Wills cited the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission report, which characterised the environmental condition in the state as “environmental genocide”.
“It’s in our hands. Let’s bargain with our votes and stop complaining afterwards,” he added.
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