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This report provides a comparative assessment of the environmental performance of 43 oil companies operating in Nigeria in 2018. This is the first environmental performance index (the Index) by SDN. It is based on the amount of oil spilled and ...

This report provides a comparative assessment of the environmental performance of 43 oil companies operating in Nigeria in 2018. This is the first environmental performance index (the Index) by SDN. It is based on the amount of oil spilled and ...

This report documents and explains some of the legal, technical, administrative, and socio-political barriers to the effective implementation of the compensation system. The purpose of doing so is to help identify a practical plan and realistic approach to change the ...

The history of oil pollution in Nigeria is long and traumatic. The Nigerian oil industry, which has produced and exported high quality crude for over 50 years, drives the Nigerian economy. The inhabitants of the Niger Delta, the country’s principal ...

This report outlines key actions that would contribute to making the oil spill compensation system in Nigeria fairer and more transparent for all. It is based on analysis of the challenges with the compensation system identified in the SDN research ...

This brief summarises research on the potential of commercial and independent data to strengthen monitoring of maritime oil-related imports and exports in Nigeria. It also provides an overview of how approaches, such as remote sensing, could be employed to track ...

Since 2018, the Innovation Hub has delivered workshops to over 3,000 participants, become one of just seven digital innovation hubs to partner with Facebook for their Nigeria programmes, and developed four start-up businesses, which now employ 22 people, with a ...

This webinar provides an overview of recent research by SDN which indicates low quality, highly toxic fuels are being imported and widely used across the Niger Delta, if not the whole of Nigeria. This is likely to significantly contribute to ...

English: We realise most messages about Coronavirus are in English, and many centre around Western culture and appearance--so we're reaching out to our Pidgin-speaking Nigerians to bust some of the most common fake news. Fake news and myths around COVID-19 ...

This report compares differences in the standards of, and emissions from, official fuels in licensed filling stations, and unofficial fuels produced by artisanal oil refineries across Bayelsa and Rivers states.
The analysis aims to improve upon current levels of ...

Official fuel quality regulation must be enforced to stem widespread toxic air quality in Nigeria.

Research in the Niger Delta suggests that low quality, highly toxic fuels are imported into the country by international commodity traders, who are exploiting weak ...

A combination of intimidation, inducement, and violence spanning the electoral period damaged the freedom, fairness, and credibility of the 2019 Governorship election in Bayelsa State. However, most voters, INEC officials, security services, and civil society organisations are to be commended ...

For over 15 years, SDN has worked with communities and stakeholders in the Niger Delta, tackling issues related to the impact of the oil and gas sector on the region. During this time, we have investigated security issues in the ...

October 2018-March 2019 This report presents the findings of the latest public perceptions survey (PPS), carried out by SDN in three Niger Delta states—Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. The purpose of the PPS is to understand local-level concerns about security in ...

This report assesses the status and trend of women’s participation in politics as citizens and as holders of political positions in the Niger Delta. It is based on research undertaken in three states—Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers—as part of the ...

Protecting the environment We aim to reduce the negative environmental impact of the oil and gas sector, and demonstrate clean energy alternatives. Our work includes documenting, and making public, the extent of pollution, working with the Nigerian environmental regulators to ...

What is accreditation, and why do I need to be accredited on election day to vote? This is to ensure that only people who are registered to vote can do so, and that only one vote is cast per person ...

Niger Delta New Vision is intended to harmonise projects across the Niger Delta, through participatory partnerships between the Federal & State Governments, Private Sector, and Local Communities. The Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP) came out of this Vision, and provides ...

Across Nigeria, women are severely underrepresented at all levels of governance and face substantial social and economic barriers that hinder their active participation in politics. The situation in the Niger Delta is particularly difficult, due to highly competitive and ...

In early 2019, Nigeria held its sixth cycle of elections since its restoration of democracy in 1999. This included two main sets of elections: Presidential and National Assembly polls, in February (after a week-long postponement, announced during the middle ...

This is a practical guide, aimed at existing and new aquaculture farmers, to scale up available opportunities in the fish farming market by providing step by step instructions from how to set up a commercial fish farm through to sale ...

Although male-dominated, women tend to be heavily involved in the marketing and sale of artisanally refined products. This project selected participants from surrounding communities, focusing on women at risk of participating in the artisanal oil industry, who had some experience ...

March 2018 - September 2018 This report presents the results of a public perceptions survey, carried out by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states. It focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the ...

Real stories from ex-participants in the informal oil industry permeating the Creeks in the Niger Delta. See our graphic guide to understanding the industry, or read our in-depth More Money, More Problems report on the growth of the industry between ...

Pipeline surveillance contracts are awarded to private firms by government agencies and oil companies. Surveillance contractors are ostensibly tasked with monitoring sections of oil pipeline, identifying any breaks and protecting them from vandalism. However, the concept of pipeline surveillance ...

This graphic guide illustrates the stages of the value chain in the artisanal oil industry. The value chain Crude oil pipeline tapping – vulnerable infrastructure is easily accessed to fix a tap to a pipeline or well head to ...

This is scheduled to be the final full weekly report from Niger Delta Watch 2019. It covers incidents where data is available for the end of the reporting period, the last week (25 – 31) of March. This report ...

When crude oil is extracted from onshore and offshore oil wells it brings with it raw natural gas to the surface. In Nigeria a vast amount of this is burned directly into the atmosphere. The hazardous air pollutants emitted from ...

The Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor gives public access to current official data on oil spills collected by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian environmental regulator, and displays this in an online map. By making the ...

In November and December 2018, we trained nearly 100 citizen Election Observers, Social Media Analysts, and Data Analysts as project team members to take part in Niger Delta Watch 2019. They were based across the Niger Delta, and submitted incident ...

October 2017 - March 2018 This report presents the results of a public perceptions survey, carried out by SDN in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states. It focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the Niger Delta, and ...

The Governorship polls on the weekend of the 09-10 March took place in difficult circumstances. Rivers State in particular was characterised by serious problems at every stage of the poll, with varying degrees of intensity across different local governments ...

Niger Delta Watch and SDN observed the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom, reporting on a range of issues affecting the polls. Overall, there was significant delay, disruption and interference in the polls ...

The major event this weekend was the last-minute postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to take place on Saturday 16 February.

Our Observers tracked the stalling of key elections materials distribution at the Central Bank in ...

This is the ninth edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019.

During the week of 28 January, with less than two weeks until the Presidential and National Assembly elections, particularly in Rivers State, major campaign activities are being carried out by ...

This is the eighth edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019.

This week’s report includes a thematic analysis of cult-related incidents that have occurred since the start of the project in November 2018.

In Rivers, over the last week, the All Progressive ...

In 2018, SDN visited Biseni, a community in Bayelsa State, to learn more about the local impact of the oil industry. We spoke to community members about the challenges they face. Oil pollution is a major issue in the Niger ...

This is the seventh edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019.

In the last week, campaigns picked up in all of the states without a noticeable increase in violence or clashes. A theme this week in all of the project states ...

This is the sixth edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019.

This week we focus on incidents of electoral fraud and corruption that have occurred in the four project states since the beginning of project. We discover that the most common ...

This is the fifth edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019. Across the region the electoral campaigns appear to be less intense and with fewer resources than in the same period in 2011 and 2015. There is some variability to ...

This is the fourth report of Niger Delta Watch 2019.

At a regional level, the latest period has been markedly quieter politically in all of the states observed. There was a protest related to recent events at the ...

Reducing 2019 election risks The 2019 Nigerian elections are now less than three months away. Given the relative success of the 2015 elections – which, although flawed, saw an incumbent president relinquish power for the first time since Nigeria’s ...

This is the third edition of Niger Delta Watch 2019. This week we are pleased for the first time to include graphics illustrating some of the data the project has been able to gather. Incidents submitted by Election Observers ...

SDN has published three case studies looking at how communities can work together to support social change. The case studies highlight how advocacy groups in Kpite, Nonwa, and Ogu have lobbied their local authorities to implement key infrastructure projects ...

See our updated analysis for the latest version of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 Today SDN publishes two policy briefs looking at key pieces of Nigerian oil sector legislation. They examine the environmental aspects of the legislation, ...

The migration of ex-militants into Niger Delta politics Since the 2009 start of the Niger Delta amnesty programme, dozens of self-described former ‘agitators’ (ex-militants) have migrated out of the creeks and into politics. Initially, many acted as political thugs, ...

This report calls for an alternative approach to tackle artisanal oil refining in the Niger Delta, based on an analysis of how the improvised artisanal oil refining value chain has adapted and changed in Bayelsa and Rivers states over ...

This is the second weekly report of Niger Delta Watch 2019. It highlights key incidents reported by the project’s citizen election observers in each state. As of next week, we will include visual trend analysis, and specific incidents will ...

This is the first weekly report of Niger Delta Watch 2019. Niger Delta Watch 2019 is a citizen-led elections observation project reporting on the 2019 Nigerian presidential and governorship elections. It focuses on the States of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta ...

This Guide explains how the government budget process works in Nigeria, and how communities in the Niger Delta can try and influence this process to support their needs. The aim of the guide is to encourage Civil Society Organisations ...

This voter toolkit has been produced to empower individuals and communities with critical information about the 2019 elections in accessible formats and regularly promoted over social media, with physical copies presented to communities in key areas. ...

Nigeria’s power sector is failing. After $2 billion was spent on the nationalised National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in the 1980s and 1990s, the Authority had an all-time low 1,700 MW of power capacity. This was hopelessly inadequate to meet ...