Tinubu pledges to tackle oil spills, gas flaring in Niger Delta

The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has pledged to sustain its collaboration with the Bayelsa State Government, so as to address oil spills and gas flaring in the Niger Delta region.

He made the pledge on Wednesday in Abuja at the International Conference on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta.

The event, themed, ‘Advancing the Recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC)’ was organised by Ford Foundation, Social Action and Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).

Tinubu was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who in turn was represented by Mr Busari Kamoru, Director Upstream, in the ministry.

He stressed the Federal Government’s dedication to reducing pollution and promoting sustainable environmental practices, especially in the position of the Niger Delta’s rich resources and potential.

Also, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, said international oil companies’ unchecked activities have devastated the state’s rivers and soil.

“We have a report from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, ‘An Environmental Genocide’, which revealed alarming statistics,” he said.

Governor Diri said 40 per cent of Bayelsa’s mangroves have been destroyed; and toxic spills have contaminated soil and water.
“Oil pollution and gas flaring have caused over 16,000 neonatal deaths in 2012 alone,” he said.

The governor urged global stakeholders to support the implementation of the report’s recommendations.

Also, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, and immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, called for collective action to address environmental pollution.