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BSOEC report slams oil firms on environmental pollution in Bayelsa

By Julius Osahon, Yenagoa
17 May 2023   |   6:54 am
Oil pollution in Bayelsa State came into international focus, yesterday, as the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) was launched at the House of Lords in London, United kingdom (UK).

• Say $12b required for cleanup in 12 years
Oil pollution in Bayelsa State came into international focus, yesterday, as the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) was launched at the House of Lords in London, United kingdom (UK).

The 211-page report titled: ‘An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,’ is a detailed documentation of the over 60 years of oil exploration and pollution in the state, where oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria by Shell.

A former Anglican Archbishop of York and member of the House of Lords, Dr. John Sentamu, alongside former president of Ghana, John Kufuor, and another member of the House of Lords, Baroness Valerie Amos, are honorary commissioners of BSOEC.

Amos, in her remarks, said the pollution of Bayelsa by oil multinationals was scandalous and shameful, calling on the international community to take action against polluters of the environment.

She said: “The research and the evidence contained in the report tell stories that are so important. The impact of pollution on the community comes through so clearly and it is devastating.

“This has been on for so long. It is an absolute scandal and we should all be ashamed that we have got to this point. Those responsible, including international oil companies, should be ashamed of the roles they have played in their refusal to take responsibility.

“There has been no accountability on the part of oil multinationals.”

The British Member of Parliament (MP) stressed the need to take collective action now, saying the international community had to rally to save Bayelsa from the impact of what could be described as an environmental genocide.

While presenting the report, chairman of the commission’s Expert Working Group, Dr. Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, said the document was the product of four years of tireless work by researchers, scientists and professionals in different fields, who went round Bayelsa communities gathering samples.

Nwajiaku-Dahou noted, among others, that the commission recommended concerted international action to generate and invest about $12 billion over 12 years to “repair, remediate and restore the environment and public health damage caused by oil and gas.”

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