By Obiabin Onukwugha
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri approached the international community in a bid to secure environmental justice for oil-ravaged communities in his state and the Niger Delta region at large.
In 2022, the Bayelsa State government commissioned an investigative report that revealed that the state has been twice polluted than any other state in the region.
The report, which recommended a $12billion investment for remediation and restoration of the environment over a twelve-year period of time is yet to be given attention by the federal government or oil companies.
Diri, who met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, at its secretariat in London recently, said the body’s intervention was needed to successfully implement the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) titled: “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Humanitarian and Environmental Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria.
”The 216-page report of the commission, which was chaired by the former Archbishop of York, Lord John Sentamu, was launched in May 2023 at the House of Lords in London.
A statement by Diri‘s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, indicated that while presenting the report to Scotland, the governor regretted that international oil companies operating in Bayelsa were divesting and exiting the Niger Delta without any concrete plan to remediate and compensate host communities polluted by their exploration activities.
He also faulted the 13% derivation to oil-producing states and the federal laws on oil and gas exploration in Nigeria, and appealed to the Commonwealth to support efforts to address the environmental injustice that oil-bearing communities had been subjected to since the commencement of oil extraction in Nigeria.
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Diri stated that his administration was open to dialogue to prevent a double jeopardy for the communities, but quickly informed od exploring the legal option, if dialogue fails.
He also expressed concern about Shell’s planned divestment from its onshore operations, pointing out that the state government had previously reached a negotiated settlement with Shell on dispute issues that involved tenement rates for the Gbarain gas processing facility and looks forward to opening similar discussions on this issue.
In their separate remarks, Lord Sentamu, another BSOEC member, Dr. Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, and chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, who were part of the delegation of the Bayelsa state governor, urged the Commonwealth to take steps to halt the “environmental genocide” in Bayelsa in particular and the Niger Delta in general.
They stated that the continued crude oil pollution of rivers and the flaring of gas constituted “landmines” to the health and livelihoods of people of the state and the region.
On his part, the Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo SAN, highlighted the inadequacies in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 in addressing the issue of environmental degradation and compensation for host communities.
Dambo said the PIA centralises control of the oil and gas sector, reinforcing the Federal Government’s authority over natural resources, with minimal consideration for the needs and rights of communities and states where the resources are located.
Responding, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland, thanked the governor and his delegation for the visit, their presentation and the report, which she said had shed more light on the oil-rated issues in Nigeria and Bayelsa Stat.
The Common Wealth Secretary-General noted that oil exploration in Nigeria presented an interesting scenario as the federal government holds majority stakes in the joint venture arrangement in place.
Scotland said a team will examine the report and proffer appropriate recommendations that will guide all parties concerned.
