Environmental activist and Executive Director and founder of the Health of Mother Earth (HOMEF), Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, has revealed that Bayelsa is the most polluted State in Nigeria regarding hydrocarbon extraction related to crude oil and gas extraction.

Bassey, a renowned environmentalist, stated this during a one-day capacity building and sharing with Nembe people at the Nembe City Hall, Nembe Local Government of Bayelsa State

According to him, Bayelsa State is one of the most polluted states in Nigeria and one of the most polluted places in the world, because there is a per capita oil pollution of 1.5 barrels of crude oil, as recorded by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission Reports that were published in May 2023.

“Another one is the evidence from a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Ogoni land; those are routinely treated by oil companies. They never really cleaned up anything, so anytime they turn the soil or buy grease to try to cover the soil, or they do a flimsy job, because they don’t care about the environment and the people.

“The environmental assessment of Ogoni land was commissioned by the federal government of Nigeria in 2006 and carried out by the UNEP, to determine the scale, impact and long-term consequences of oil pollution in Ogoni land, in River State, Niger Delta.

“The assessment, conducted between 2009 and 2011, represents one of the most comprehensive environmental studies ever undertaken in an oil-producing region.

“The investigation involved extensive scientific fieldwork across the Ogoni four local government areas, namely Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, combined with laboratory analysis and community consultations,” he said.

He urged oil firms to stop the deliberate systematic destruction of the Niger Delta region, noting that the region had been treated as a sacrificial zone since the early 1950s up until now.

Bassey lamented the extreme negative impacts of oil and gas extraction as well as the massive deforestation and various kinds of erosion of both the land and coastlines.

He noted that while the use of environmental genocide as the title of the report was unarguably weighty, the matter should not be treated with levity.

On his part, the Head of Administration, Nembe LGA, Mr Godson Jim-Dorgu, said from time immemorial Nembe has been negatively affected by oil spills and other atrocities caused by oil companies.

He said that most of their fish and farm produce have been badly affected, bringing about more hardship to the people of Nembe, which is one of the most hit by oil spills.

Jim-Dorgu called on the federal government and the oil firms to start remediation of the environment that has been destroyed by activities of oil companies operating in the area.

He stated that since the oil spill in Santa Barbara, which lasted for about six weeks in May 2023, there has not been a clean-up of the affected area, which has affected aquatic life.

On his part, Chief Jude Pulemote, Director, Primary HealthCare, Nembe LGA, said that the oil exploration in Nembe has brought a lot of health issues to the rural people.

He said most of the pregnant women in Nembe are having a shortage of blood, because their livelihood has been negatively impacted in the host communities, and there is nothing to show for it rather than a divide-and-rule system.

Pulemote calls on the federal government and state to ensure that the right thing is done in Nembe, because they are one of the most affected by oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta region.