Blessing Okorite, Port Harcourt
A renowned Environmentalist, Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, has stated that the Federal Government’s ignorance on the continuous gas flaring by multinational oil companies in Niger Delta region is an affront on the people.
This was as the environmentalists insisted that the Federal Government lacks the commitment to end gas flaring in the country.
Bassey, who is the Director, Home of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), stated this at a two-day Youth Climate Incubation Hub scheme, organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment in partnership with United Nations Development Programme for youths of the South-South Zone, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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He stated that if the Federal Government was ready to end gas flaring, it should ensure that companies pay fines for gas flared and not rely on an offensive laws that allows the companies to pay just a token as fine for causing such level of environmental hazard.
According to him, “The greatest action government can take concerning gas flaring is not how to reduce the impact or reduce gas flaring.
“We do know that in 2018, the government released a gazette on how to handle gas flaring and a lot of idea on how to convert the gas flaring into economic use with the aim to end gas flaring.
“If government want to stop gas flaring from the gazette published last year there is a lot of project lined up, why should anyone determine gas flaring to go on for one more day, is an affront on the people, is a big embarrassment to the country.
“We have to take steps to stop global warming and climate change. Gas flaring has been going for over 62 years now and that is the primary thing that needs to be tackled.
“I think if concerted efforts are being made and the companies are panelised appropriately they will stop gas flaring.
“The problem we have now is that the law allows a space for those who pollute environment by burning gas to a fine of just a token and the fine is shared according to joint venture arrangement and this is not really an incentive for the companies to stop the gas flaring”.
Speaking on the purpose of the youth gathering, Bassey said, “The Federal Ministry of Environment, Climate Change Department, desired to have the youth incubation process on climate change so that we have harvest ideas from the youths across the country.
“So, what we have in Port Harcourt is the first ever climate incubation hub with youths across the South-South states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta.
“We are having other hubs in all the zones in the country, we are going to have one in Ibadan, Owerri, Gombe, Lafia and as well as in Kano. And then we have a national hub where representatives of all the zones will come to Abuja. The idea is that United Nation Secretary General desires to get countries around the world to improve in level of admission on climate change.
“The idea is also that Youths have the great ideas on how to tackle global warming and if you look at the whole scenario they will be the ones mostly impacted because a lot of the impact of the global warming are still coming in the future.
“So, they are gathered here to bring up their ideas on what government can do, what global leaders can do concerning the global warming,” Bassey stated.