Enhancing Stakeholder Participation In The Niger Delta Region: The Potential Contributions Of The Ilo Convention 169

Abstract

Nigeria’s indigenous people, found in the Niger Delta area, have for
many years experienced developmental challenges associated with
oil exploration. The region has been perennially engulfed in various forms
of agitation pertaining to self-government and resource control. Over
the years, attempts to solve these problems have been merely palliative,
basically due to local stakeholders’ perception that they are excluded from
decision making about the issues that affect their existence. For many
years, the Nigerian government has grappled unsuccessfully with the
challenge of fostering broad-based participation and stakeholder
engagement in the Niger Delta. This article contends that the problems
which have arisen can be addressed through the ratification of the
International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 by the
Nigerian government. Owing to a recent constitutional alteration in
Nigeria, the ILO Convention 169 will not require domestication,
arguably, making it a ready and viable toolkit for the progressive
realization of participatory rights in the Niger Delta.