Norwegian state-owned utility Statoil set up the Akassa Community Development Project in Nigeria ten years ago, after deciding the Akassa people were those most likely to suffer if there was ever an oil spillage in the Niger Delta.

Today, with the help of non-governmental organisations Pro-Natura International (PNI) and Voluntary Service Overseas, the project provides a model for NGOs and oil and gas companies to follow worldwide.

Akassa is a fishing community in the Niger Delta with 30,000 inhabitants. Before the launch of the Akassa Development Foundation – set up by PNI in the belief that a group of stakeholders was needed to run and manage the community – the Akassa community had no proper sewage disposal, electricity or schools. In fact it was a community that had not felt the influence of local government since colonial times, and its people, as a result, were stuck in poverty.

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