The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has formally backed the federal government’s ongoing restructuring of the oil and gas industry.
The apex socio-cultural body for the Niger Delta expressed optimism that the recent administrative changes will revitalize the nation’s energy landscape and better serve host communities.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the 19th of December, 2025, PANDEF Chairman Dr. Godknows Boladei Igali hailed the transition as a strategic move toward modernizing the sector. He noted that the appointment of high-caliber professionals like Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) signals a new era of growth.
PANDEF pledged to serve as a bridge between the government and the Niger Delta people, ensuring a stable environment for these reforms to take root.
Dr. Igali emphasized the region’s approval of the new leadership: “PANDEF reaffirms its commitment to working closely with federal and state governments in mobilising our people to ensure that the right enabling environment exists for this important sector to continue to play its deserved role.
“We, the people of the Niger Delta, are greatly impressed with these changes, and hope that the holistic reforms would be sustained.”
He further underscored the importance of maintaining this momentum for Nigeria’s global standing:
“This is the only way to ensure that the oil and gas industry continues to play the paramount role which it has been doing for the common economic interest of all Nigerians and places Nigeria as a dominant player in the global energy architecture.”
The forum specifically praised President Bola Tinubu for elevating technical experts to lead key regulatory bodies.
“We applaud President Bola Tinubu for the appointment of Mrs Eyesan, a seasoned economist, as Executive Vice President, Upstream, in the NNPC, as well as Engr Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority.”
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Despite the endorsement of administrative reforms, PANDEF, previously led by the late Chief Edwin Clark insisted that structural changes must be accompanied by ecological restoration. Dr. Igali argued that the “Ogoni clean-up” should serve as a starting point, not a final solution, for the region’s environmental challenges.
“The Federal Government must go beyond the Ogoni clean-up to ensure that there is budgetary provision on an annual basis to clean up the damaged environments of the Niger Delta in a sustained manner,” he said.
PANDEF’s Policy Demands: Annual federal budgetary allocations dedicated to environmental remediation. Active involvement of host communities in regulatory decision-making, and a permanent framework for addressing pollution beyond pilot projects.