Civil Society in the shadows of Nigeria’s Core Conflicts The Political Economy of the Conflict in the Niger Delta Region - Dr Ndubuisi NWOKOLO The Niger Delta region is critical to Nigeria's continued existence as the petroleum from that part of the country accounts for over 90 percent of Nigeria's total revenue, about 75 percent of the federal budget, and 40 percent of her Gross Domestic Product. Since the first commercial oil extraction in the region, conflicts of various forms have remained potent and vital when discussing the economy and politics of the region. It is, therefore, imperative to figure out the political economy of conflicts of the Niger Delta region with regards to the role civil society organisations play, as well as that of civil society that exists outside the state. To explain it in a better way, the politics and economic trajectories in the Niger Delta region revolves around the governance structures and the oil extractive issues or industry. Despite Nigeria's gains from petroleum in the Niger Delta, there is little to no commensurate development outcomes for the people. Rather, the region has endured severe underdevelopment, environmental pollution, poor human development outcomes, poverty, etc. The negative impacts of oil activities will remain with the people for a long time. Various local and international reports show that remediation for environmental pollution will take decades to be achieved. This is despite the creation of many Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nigeria| 72