Oil spillage: Cancer now common in Bayelsa, says gov
06 November 2024 |
3:20 am
Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has raised the alarm over the prevalence of cancer and other bizarre sicknesses, which, he said, are a common phenomenon in the state owing to oil spillages.
Stakeholders advocate adaptation financing to mitigate climate crisis
Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has raised the alarm over the prevalence of cancer and other bizarre sicknesses, which, he said, are a common phenomenon in the state owing to oil spillages.
This was as stakeholders in the environment sector called for the use of adaption financing to mitigate the impact of climate crisis in developing countries, particularly Nigeria.
Diri, who led the state delegation to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, said the companies extracting crude oil from the state were liable for such sicknesses, as most of their obsolete facilities kept failing.
“As I speak with you today, issues about cancer are now almost like a normal thing in Bayelsa. We have a report that traced it to oil exploration and all other types of bizarre sicknesses that were not hitherto known to the people of Bayelsa.”
Governor Diri said the delegation was on a ‘thank you’ visit to the President for recognising some sons and daughters of Bayelsa extraction and elevating them to national positions.
He added, “We are here as a state delegation representing the government and people of Bayelsa. As a culture of the Ijaw, we came here on behalf of the Ijaw to acknowledge, appreciate and thank the President for appointing our daughter as the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) and our sons into various positions of trust.
“Bayelsa is the melting pot of all Ijaw. So, we came as a state delegation on behalf of our people to appreciate the President for these very important appointments and we believe that our daughters and sons will add value to this administration.”
THE environment stakeholders reiterated the need for the developed world to ensure debt cancellation and provide grants to Africans as part of efforts to help communities adapt to climate change.
According to the experts, climate adaptation financing should come through disaster risk instrument, blended finance and catalytic instruments, rather than borrowing, to fight climate change.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Climate Finance and Stakeholders Engagement, lbrahim Shelleng, led the call at the African Climate Caravan/Media Spotlight award organised by Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), in partnership with Oxfam Nigeria, African Activists for Climate Justice and 350African.org, in Abuja.
The forum attracted African Climate Caravan, arts for climate, an exhibition by about 10 secondary schools, a panel discussion on climate reporting in Nigeria and other activities.
Shelleng said climate change had become a cross-cutting problem and not limited to environmental issues alone. He said the crisis impacted food security, worsened migration, flooding, water crisis and erosion.
He noted that most of the available funds to tackle the crisis were majorly for mitigation, but suggested adaption financing to support local communities and alleviate challenges they faced daily.
The Presidential aide harped on the solution to the crisis and urged the media to ensure accuracy in climate reporting and avoid misrepresentation of facts on the issue.
The Executive Director, GIFSEP, Dr David Michael, explained that locals must access climate finance, grants and not loans.He lamented that youths were paying for what they didn’t owe and tasked developed world to free Africa from the debt burden used to address the climate crisis.
Michael expressed concerns that the effect of climate change was seen through various health issues among the people, social conflicts, biodiversity loss, desertification and recent flooding, which worsened living conditions in Nigerian states.
Country Director, Oxfam Nigeria, John Makina, called on Africans to be united in voicing how climate change affected the people at future fora like COP29 to be hosted in Baku. Earlier, Chairman, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Environment and Housing, Mohammed Omadafu; the Chairman, Adamawa State House Committee on Environment, Yohanna Sahabo, and the Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Environment, TerseerUgbor, assured Nigerians that the lawmakers were proposing bills at the state and federal levels to alleviate challenges of climate change and create more awareness about the crisis.
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