From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, has again taken his campaign for environmental justice for oil-ravaged communities in his state and the Niger Delta region to the international arena.
Governor Diri, who met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, at its secretariat in London, said the body’s intervention was needed to successfully implement the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) entitled: “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 Governor Diri ‘s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as saying while presenting the report to Baroness Scotland, 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.
Diri while faulting the 13 per cent derivation to oil-producing states and the federal laws on oil and gas exploration in Nigeria, appealed to the Commonwealth to support efforts to address the environmental injustice that oil-bearing communities had been subjected to.
According to him, his administration was open to dialogue to prevent double jeopardy for the communities as well as exploring the legal option, if dialogue failed.
“The Commonwealth’s dedication to environmental protection is crucial, and we are eager to collaborate in addressing these pressing issues together. We are here because we can achieve so much in terms of the environmental challenges; we face by collaborating with your office, ” Diri said.
Scotland said a team would examine the report and proffer appropriate recommendations that will guide all parties concerned.