Oil Spills, Gas Flaring worse than Insecurity ravaging North – Bayelsa Govt
Isaac Ombe – Yenagoa
The Bayelsa state government has described oil spills and gas flaring in the Niger Delta as environmental terrorism as it is worse than insecurity in the northern part of the country.
The state government also accused the federal government as not being fear to the state in terms of protecting the states environment.
The Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, spoke
when the leadership of the Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA) paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Government House, Yenagoa, at the weekend.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo who hinted the state government’s interest to partner civil society organizations (CSOs) to intensify its advocacy on the twin issues of human and environmental rights in the Niger Delta noted that the issue of environmental and human rights is occupying the frontburner in the agenda of the Bayelsa State Government.
“The Federal Government had not been fair enough to the state on the issue of protecting of the Bayelsa environment.
” The Niger Delta environment occasioned by oil spills and gas flaring is worse than insecurity in the northern part of the country,” the Deputy Governor , saying Bayelsa was ready to work closely with the civil society to create greater awareness on the issues.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, said their visit was part of civil society engagement of states in the Niger Delta on the issues pertaining to human and environmental rights.
Mr. Suraju pointed out that the HEDA was ready to partner the Bayelsa State Government to promote advocacy on its report on environmental injustice and terrorism in Bayelsa and the entire Niger Delta region.
He maintained that if other states in the Niger Delta had done what Bayelsa had done, more global attention would have been given to the problem of environmental injustice facing the region.
The HEDA team also had the Director of Corner House, United Kingdom, Mr Nicholas Hildyard, and the Legal Advisor, Ms Cecilia Ogwuche.