The administration of President Bola Tinubu has committed to ongoing collaboration with the Bayelsa State Government to tackle oil spills and gas flaring in the Niger Delta region,Daily Trust reports.
This commitment was announced on Wednesday in Abuja at the International Conference on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta. The event, titled “Advancing the Recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC),” was organized by Ford Foundation, Social Action, and Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
President Tinubu was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who was in turn represented by Mr. Busari Kamoru, Director of Upstream in the ministry. Kamoru emphasized the Federal Government’s dedication to reducing pollution and fostering sustainable environmental practices, given the Niger Delta’s rich natural resources and potential.
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Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri spoke about the severe impact of unregulated activities by international oil companies, which have devastated the state’s rivers and soil.
“We have an environmental report from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission titled ‘An Environmental Genocide,’ which reveals alarming statistics,” Governor Diri said.
He highlighted findings that 40 percent of Bayelsa’s mangroves have been destroyed and that toxic spills have severely contaminated the soil and water. “In 2012 alone, oil pollution and gas flaring led to over 16,000 neonatal deaths,” he added, calling on global stakeholders to support the implementation of the report’s recommendations.
Senator Seriake Dickson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change and former governor of Bayelsa State, also urged collective action to address the region’s environmental challenges.
