By Oghenefejiro Emado
26, May 2026
Environmental rights activist and development advocate, Comrade Mulade Sheriff has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, and other stakeholders to intervene urgently in Obuguru Community, Burutu LGA, Delta State, where severe coastal erosion is threatening the area’s survival.
Speaking on the worsening situation in the oil-rich Ogulagha Kingdom, Mulade said the community is being battered by Atlantic Ocean surges at the River Forcados Estuary.
“I am deeply disturbed by the worsening coastal erosion currently threatening the existence of the oil-bearing host community, Obuguru in Ogulagha Kingdom, Burutu LGA of Delta State, as a result of the devastating Atlantic Ocean surge at the River Forcados Estuary,” he said.
As National Coordinator of the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), National Treasurer of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), and a prospective candidate for Warri Federal Constituency in the 2027 House of Representatives elections, Mulade said he could not stay silent while residents face environmental destruction and displacement.
He noted that large swathes of land in Obuguru are being washed away, putting lives, ancestral homes, fishing settlements, properties, and the community’s economic survival at risk.
“If urgent intervention measures are not immediately taken, the community faces the danger of total extinction and displacement,” he warned.
Mulade called on all tiers of government — local, state, and federal — and relevant agencies to take immediate, practical steps to protect lives, property, and livelihoods through shoreline protection and erosion control measures.
He also criticized former operator Eni Agip Oil Company Nigeria Limited, now Oando Surgenal Limited, for abandoning Obuguru after decades of oil production at the defunct Beniboye Flow Station. According to him, the company extracted significant wealth from the area but left the community to deal with environmental degradation, erosion, economic hardship, and lack of basic infrastructure without compensation or remediation.
Mulade extended the same concern to neighboring shoreline communities Beniboye, Isiayegbene, and Okuntu, which he said have also borne the brunt of oil exploration, heavy boat traffic, wave action, and other hazards from years of operations around the abandoned Beniboye Oil Field.
“These communities have suffered enough. Despite their immense contributions to the Nigerian economy through oil production, the people lack basic social amenities, shoreline protection infrastructure, healthcare, potable water, educational facilities, and meaningful empowerment opportunities,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government and Oando Surgenal Limited to convene a roundtable with affected communities to address the longstanding environmental and socio-economic challenges caused by oil exploitation. He also called for the immediate engagement of internationally recognized valuers to assess environmental damages and losses, and for compensation and remediation programs to begin without delay.
Mulade further demanded that the government and Oando Surgenal roll out a comprehensive end-of-life and abandonment plan for all abandoned oil facilities in the area, in line with international environmental standards.
“Our people cannot continue to suffer after sacrificing so much for the economic survival of Nigeria. Environmental justice, fairness, remediation, and sustainable development must prevail,” he said, reiterating his commitment to advocating for vulnerable Niger Delta communities.
