Environmental Impact Assessment Process for Oil, Gas and Mining Projects in Nigeria : A Critical Analysis

This article examines legislation and practice concerning the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process for oil and gas projects in Nigeria. It argues that although EIAs have become a standard legal requirement for all oil, gas and mining projects in Nigeria, not much is achieved in terms of managing the impacts of these projects. The reasons are legion. They range from the lack of political commitment on the part of the government to enforce environmental standards, the scarcity of baseline information against which the environmental impacts can be assessed, and non implementation, or lack of committed implementation, of EIA reports. The result is that operators carry out EIAs to satisfy the dry letters of regulatory provisions for the purpose of obtaining operational permits. The article recognizes that some improvements have been made in the EIA system relevant to oil and gas development, especially since the inauguration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999. It submits that those changes have not produced any meaningful improvement due to the same factors outlined above. However, the article argues that the adoption of the Freedom of Information Act in 2010 has the potential to strengthen the EIA system in Nigeria since the Act makes it possible for citizens to have access to important environmental information that would put both the government and the oil and gas operators on watch regarding the carrying out of EIAs