Diri: State needs $12b to fix environmental, health hazards

Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, Bubaraye Dakolo, has said that he, alongside his subjects, is among the living dead due to environmental degradation and pollution unleashed by International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the state.

Dakolo, who stated this during the international conference on petroleum pollution and just transition in the Niger Delta held in Abuja, yesterday, said he was at the receiving end of pollution when an oil firm got as close as 100 metres radius of his palace while carrying out its exploratory activities.

The monarch said his plight was a microcosm of what the entire people of oil-bearing communities in Bayelsa that have lost their means of livelihood due to oil exploration and exploitation go through daily. He wondered why the people of the state were being subjected to such harrowing experiences when they were supposed to be pampered for catering to the needs of the country in the last 70 years.

He, however, lauded Governor Douye Diri, and his predecessor, Seriake Dickson, for their foresight and ability to sustain what he termed the “time-tested findings of the study” that have exposed the devastating effects of oil exploration on the people of Bayelsa.

Meanwhile, Diri has said the people of the state urgently need $12 billion to repair, remediate and restore the environmental and public health damage caused by oil and gas exploration. He said the money would be expended in 12 years to lay the foundation for Bayelsa’s transition towards renewable energy and opportunities for alternative livelihoods.

Besides, the governor said that the need for the fund is based on the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC). The governor, therefore, urged his colleagues from oil-producing states to join hands with him in the battle for environmental justice in the region.

He said that the grim picture of life expectancy in Bayelsa is now pegged at 50 years, coupled with the study estimates that in 2012 alone, oil spills in Nigeria, and predominantly in the Niger Delta, resulted in over 16,000 additional neonatal deaths.

Diri further said that Nigeria’s gas-flaring policies, despite their intent, had fallen short of effective action, among others.