The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOS-DRA), a Nigerian government agency, and the European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, have agreed to seek greater collaboration between the two bodies towards building a strong and internationally supported framework for oil spill response, environmental protec-tion and sustainable develop-ment in Nigeria’s oil-producing regions. NOSDRA and the EU came to the understanding during a work-ing visit by the Director General of the former, Engr. Chukwueme-ka Woke, and management at the EU’s office in Abuja on Tuesday as part of NOSDRA’s quest for strategic international support to strengthen the actualisation of its institutional mandate. During the meeting, priority was given to the development of a robust environmental impact assessment and remediation framework for artisanal refining sites, the deployment of in-situ oil spill response equipment and tools, and capacity building through structured training and retraining initiatives. Such partnership, Engr. Woke explained, was essential for tack-ling persistent environmental threats, particularly the challeng-es posed by illegal oil bunkering and artisanal refining, which have devastated oil-producing communities across Nigeria. “The main objective of this visit is to seek strategic collabora-tion with the EU to help escalate the challenges we face, particular-ly the issues of illegal bunkering and artisanal refineries. With the support of the Nigerian govern-ment and the European Union, we believe we can eliminate the suffering of people living in oil spill-impacted areas and attract stronger international commit-ment to environmental justice,” Engr. Woke added. The NOSDRA DG noted that effective international collabora-tion would not only bring global attention to the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and other oil-producing regions, but also drive impactful policy re-forms and resource mobilisation. Responding, the Acting Head of Delegation at the EU, Mr. Ru-ben Alba, welcomed the NOS-DRA team and praised the agency for taking the initiative to engage with international partners. He announced that the EU would set up a technical working group to review NOSDRA’s man-date and identify areas where the EU could provide meaningful support. “We appreciate NOSDRA’s efforts and commitment to envi-ronmental protection. As a next step, we will establish a smaller committee to examine the agen-cy’s mandate and determine how best we can contribute to its objec-tives,” Mr. Alba promised. Meanwhile, a detailed presen-tation was delivered by NOSDRA staff at the meeting, outlining the agency’s core functions, the scale of environmental challenges caused by oil spills, and the crit-ical need for technical and pol-icy-based support from the EU to enhance environmental mon-itoring, response capabilities, and regulatory enforcement. The meeting, seen as a vital step, concluded with the EU and NOSDRA reaffirming their commitment to stronger collab-oration. At the meeting were several EU officials, including the Pro-gramme Manager for Human De-velopment, Mr. Temitayo Omole; Programme Officer for Climate, Green and Digital Economy Sec-tion, Mr. Tomasz Gawlik; and Pro-gramme Manager for Energy and Satellite Initiatives, Mr. Godfrey Ogbemudia.