Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has bemoaned the negative impact of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the state, stressing that the state has over the years been subjected to what he described as ” environmental Armageddon”.
The Governor bared his mind on Monday during an expanded state executive council meeting during which the final report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission (BSOEC) was presented in Government House, Yenagoa.
Commenting on the report titled: “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,” he said the impact of oil pollution to both humans and the environment were alarming.
The Governor who announced formal dissolution of the commission with effect from October 31, 2024, said it was saddening to read that Bayelsa is estimated to have suffered over a quarter of total recorded instances of oil pollution in Nigeria.
“The staggering disparity underscores the inequitable distribution of environmental burdens. Bayelsa State bears 25% of Nigeria’s oil pollution. The sheer scale of devastation paints a dire picture, disconcertingly reminiscent of an environmental Armageddon.”, he lamented.
Quoting from the report presented by the Commission, Governor Diri stated that “between 1970 and 2014, Nigeria earned an estimated trillion dollars in oil revenue, and since 2006, oil produced in Bayelsa generated over $150 billion for the Federal Government and billions for the international oil companies that operate its wells. On average, oil produced in Bayelsa is responsible for approximately $10 billion in government revenues per year.”
However, the Governor noted that the state was encouraged by the revelation in the report that “in most advanced industrialized countries, two basic principles – ‘polluter pays’ and ‘no fault liability’ – form the cornerstone of the legal regime for regulating extractive industries. Taken together, he said “they mean that those that own and operate facilities are responsible for the damage caused by their pollution even if they are not at fault.”
Describing the report as heartbreaking, he lamented that the magnitude of devastation across communities paints a grim picture of their survival.
Diri assured that a committee would be set up to look into the commission’s recommendations with a view to ensuring its implementation.
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He re-echoed the commission’s recommendation of “concerted international action to generate and invest at least $12 billion over the course of 12 years to repair, remediate and restore the environmental and public health damage caused by oil and gas and to lay the foundations for Bayelsa’s just transition towards renewable energy and opportunities for alternative livelihoods”
Diri commended his predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson, for his vision in establishing the commission in March 2018 as well as its chairman, The Rt. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Lord John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu and his team for the exceptional work they did.
In his remarks, Dr John Sentamu, who is the former Archbishop of York, said the oil companies were negligent in their operations and called for the creation of an estimated $12 billion fund to support remediation efforts.
Also at the event, chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council and Ibenanowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo, who described the event as one of the greatest achievements in governance, said there was finally evidence to prove the devastation to both human and environmental health caused by oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
The monarch said Bayelsans were paying heavily for the enjoyment of the oil and gas resources by others outside the state and the region.
