By CHINYERE Nnaemeka
A non-governmental organization; Petroleum, Environmental, and Solid Mineral Degradation Awareness Association, PESDAA geared towards protecting the environment, among others has been announced in Imo State.
This was disclosed by the Coordinator of the organization, Hon Chief Sam Akah while addressing newsmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on the mission and vision of the organization.
Speaking, Akah pointed out that PESDAA with about 2000 members has come to keep the “earth”, that is the environment safe from those trying to destroy it.
He averred that to ensure this, a taskforce team of 5 persons each from the 305 Wards in the state, are already been selected to be part of the team, and will soon be inaugurated to commence work.
Hear him,”PESDAA representing Petroleum, Environmental, and Solid Mineral Degradation Awareness Association, has been rated as one of the organizations that will keep the earth/environment safe from those tempering with it, especially those from the extractive sector; oil, gas and solid mineral operators.
“We recently in Abuja, on September 9, 2025, had an investiture in an international conference where I was inaugurated as coordinator of the organization, and we are already doing very well in the 774 LGA of Nigeria, Imo inclusive.
“In Imo State, we intend to bring a paradigm shift as it affects security and above all keeping our environment safe, which we will achieve through our taskforce team drawn from the 305 Wards in the State, who will soon come on board to be the police of the earth/nature.
“You will agree with me that the environment you are seeing today is not the same with the one we saw while we were growing up. Now you wake up in the morning and the environment is filled with fuel, and gas emissions that is choky, people are now breathing in contaminated air. Nobody is planting trees anymore as they are being cut down. Aqua life is dying on daily basis, because of chemicals poured into our waters.
“So people day and night are carrying out deforestation of even our economic trees like peers, mango, bread fruit, among others. Operators of oil and solid mineral explorations in all parts of Nigeria are taking advantage of the host communities without doing anything to support them.
“This we have come to tackle through the taskforce. They will wade into what is causing problems between the host communities and the operators, and also ensure the communities are getting what is due to them from the operators. They will tackle oil bunkering, and illicit mining of solid mineral; sand in our vicinities.
“We are partnering with the Federal, State Governments and other stakeholders to achieve this, and to also ensure that in no distant time, the taskforce will come on board to begin educating the people on the need to join hands in fighting for the earth and nature.
“With adequate cooperation between us and the Federal government, and relative security agencies of the federation, we will be able to curb, and nip the menace on the board, as we cannot continue to allow those who have sworn to continue to deplet our environment from giving us fresh air to cancerous acidic air, which today has made Nigeria to top in the list of those that having cancer issues.
“The fight for economic crime is the fight for everyone which we cannot leave for the government alone. Our main target is to become the police of the environment, and to ensure that we plant and sustain our economic trees.
“Also, I want to see that we work hard with international bodies and other stakeholders in the sector to ensure we have a Bio-center where new type of crops and plant are not modified genetically, but organically so we can say goodbye to Genetic Modified Organisms, GMOs, which are prone to cancer.
“This center when established can give jobs to about 3000 youths. A center that can export plants, diverse kind of seeds. The only one we have is in Benue State and it is doing well, then, imagine what will happen when it is replicated in all the South East States, which I recommend should be done.
“We will do this to eradicate dependence on oil and gas as many natural resources abound in our communities which most of the communities do not know about, and so in our campaign we will find out what is in every community and let them know about them, so the right steps would be taken for the communities to benefit from them.
“We will also launch a campaign to approach the Imo Assembly to declare a particular day as a day of planting economic trees, which when it is carried out by the people we will have enough of the trees, and food items to export,’the PESDAA Coordinator, Akah asserted’.
He further assured of doing his best in ensuring that they have a team that everything they think about is centered on saving the environment.
