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President Bola Tinubu’s administration on Wednesday expressed readiness to partner Bayelsa State Government in its quest to address oil spills and gas flaring in the Niger Delta region.
Tinubu gave the assurance in Abuja at the International Conference on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta with the theme: ‘Advancing the recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC)’ organised by Social Action in collaboration with Ford Foundation and Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission chaired by a Member of the House of Lord, Hon. John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, recommended the concerted international action to generate and invest at least US$12 billion over the course of 12 years to repair, remediate and restore the environmental and public health damage caused by oil and gas and to lay the foundations for Bayelsa’s just transition towards renewable energy and opportunities for alternative livelihoods.
Tinubu who was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, pledged the administration’s “readiness to reduce our ecological impact while supporting economic growth.
He said, “We are committed to reducing and investing in clean technology and enhancing regulatory frameworks to protect the regions rich ecosystem.”
Speaking on behalf of the Minister, Director Upstream, Mr. Busari Kamoru also assured Stakeholders of the administration resolve towards achieving the 2030 gas flare out agenda.
He also pledged the administration’s resolve to “partner with Bayelsa State and we will on getting the report adopt this report as a working document and to ensure that whatever we need to do we will do.
“If we need to change any aspect of the Act that will ensure the full implementation of this report, we will.”
On his part, Governor Diri Douye of Bayelsa State lamented that international oil companies’ unchecked activities have devastated the state’s rivers and soil.
The Governor who reiterated the urgent need for the implementation of the report, called upon the IOCs to meet their responsibilities, not in empty words, but in tangible actions, just as he beckoned on all the Governors from the oil producing states to join hands with Bayelsa State in this battle for environmental justice.
“Similarly, we demand that the Federal Government grants Bayelsa greater access to ecological funds. The dilemma before us is chiefly a result of the inept enforcement by the Federal agencies vested with this mandate and lopsided oil and gas laws in Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s gas flaring policies, despite their intent, have fallen short of effective action.
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“With regulations like the Associated Gas Re-Injection Act of 1979 and the more recent Flare Gas Regulations of 2018, the penalties imposed on IOCs remain negligible compared to the profit made from continued flaring.
“While international policies in places like Norway, Canada and the EU, impose stringent environmental standards and heavy fines, making it costly to bypass regulations, Nigeria’s federal structure has largely accepted the option of fines over enforcing actual environmental safeguards.
“This preference for penalties over meaningful regulatory enforcement has allowed international oil companies to operate with minimal accountability.
“The fight for the Niger Delta’s environmental survival cannot be reduced to mere shadowboxing; it demands concrete action, unwavering commitment, and collective responsibility.
“Let me be clear: Bayelsa’s contributions to Nigeria are immense. We produce 18 – 20% of the nation’s oil wealth, generating over $10 billion annually.
“Yet, despite this wealth drawn from our land, our people receive crumbs, and none of these companies have seen fit to establish their headquarters on our soil. Not one.
“Meanwhile, their profits flow freely while our people choke sorely on polluted air and wade through poisoned waters.
“Urgent intervention is needed. But we cannot do this alone.
“The magnitude of our challenges requires the involvement of global stakeholders; international alliances, compassionate nations, and responsible organisations willing to stand alongside us.
Governor Douye also called on all the IOCs to relocate their headquarters to Bayelsa, as part of ongoing efforts to ensure that they “contribute meaningfully and directly to the communities from which they extract so much. Not as tourists, with no stake.
“This sense of neglect has already bred militancy. I want to warn, if this persists, a different wave of resistance will rise, one led, not by arms but by minds, by the brilliant, disillusioned youths who demand accountability for their land and future.
“But I still dare to hold the hope for a future where Bayelsa and other oil producing states heal.”
