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Bayelsa demands reparation, environmental cleanup over oil pollution
Bayelsa Governor, Douye Diri, has demanded reparations and an extensive environmental cleanup to address decades of ecological devastation caused by crude oil exploration in the State.
Speaking to journalists at the State House, Abuja, after a meeting between Bayelsa’s political and traditional leaders and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Diri highlighted the severe environmental and health crises facing his state due to unchecked oil activities.
The Bayelsa leaders said they were paying a thank you visit on the President for the appointment of one of their daughters, Mrs. Didi Lawson-Jack, as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, among other important appointments from the state.
Diri, who presented the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission Report to Tinubu during the meeting, pointed to the extensive damage in the state’s rivers and rural areas, where oil pollution has permeated the waterways, damaging the ecosystems and local economies.
The Governor also raised concerns over the alarming rise in cancer cases and other unusual illnesses among Bayelsa’s residents, linking these health crises to prolonged oil pollution.
The report he referenced traces these health issues directly to the oil industry’s operations, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive response.
He stressed that the livelihoods of Bayelsa residents, many of whom rely on fishing and farming, have been devastated by widespread pollution.
Diri urged the Federal Government to prioritise environmental restoration, similar to ongoing efforts in Ogoniland through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
Diri noted that oil companies must assume responsibility for the damage, regardless of whether it was caused by equipment failure or acts of sabotage, pointing out that international laws hold companies accountable for pollution resulting from their facilities and equipment.
“Well, the report is there. If you’re asking for the recommendations, they are not just one. They are not two. But what is more important there is the issue of our environment and in that recommendation, they are talking about the clean-up, you know about the Ogoni situation, and HYPREP, and our environment is totally gone.
“If you go into the rivers and the rooflets of Bayelsa state, you will be perceiving oil, economic activities of our people have been grounded, and up until today, you still have oil pollution all over the state.
“So the number one thing is, first of all, restore the environment, clean up the environment, and of course, you have to pay reparations, and those who have caused these damage, most times they say, Oh, it is as a result of sabotage.
“But international law doesn’t recognize sabotage. You own those facilities and equipment, whether the oil spillages were as a result of sabotage or ageing equipment, which is most times the case, equipment failures, reparations have to be paid.
“As I speak with you today, issues about cancer are now almost like a normal thing in Bayelsa state, and this report has traced it to the activities of the oil companies, oil exploration and all other types of very bizarre types of sicknesses that were not hitherto known to the people of Bayelsa”, he said
Donald J. Trump just won the 2024 election. President Elect Trump will be getting inaugurated on January 20, 2025 as the 47th President of The United States after the Electoral College vote on January 6th 2025.
The former president’s victory was the highlight of a big night for Republicans, who were also projected to regain control of the Senate after four years in the minority.
The fate of the House of Representatives was too close to call early Wednesday, with the majority not likely to be determined for several days.
In an eerie repeat of the scenes on Election Night 2016, thousands of Harris supporters who gathered on the campus of the veep’s alma mater, Howard University, to watch the results come in were left shocked and in tears as it became clear their candidate could not win.
In the end, it was not Harris but her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, who was left to inform the desolate crowd that the Democratic nominee would not be appearing.
“We still have votes to count … so you won’t hear from the vice president tonight,” said Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman and Biden White House official. “She will be back here tomorrow.”
“Go HU and go Harris.”
The 45th president had projected supreme confidence against Harris, 60, in the final days of the race, with heavy messaging aimed at male voters and a marathon schedule of rallies and media appearances — including a shift at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
Meanwhile, Harris downplayed both her potential to make history as the first female president and her racial identity as a child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.
Instead, she campaigned as a pro-small business warrior for the middle class, while seemingly disavowing a host of former left-wing stances she had espoused as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and a senator from the Golden State.
Trump’s victory makes him just the second president to be elected in non-consecutive cycles, joining Democrat Grover Cleveland — who was picked as the 22nd president in 1884 and the 24th president in 1892, with Republican Benjamin Harrison of Indiana serving four years in between.
The race was widely considered a toss-up right through Election Day, as surrogates for both candidates made rhetorical blunders that received widespread media attention.
Jamilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change, BDC, operator, has revealed how he exchanged naira brought to him by agents of Kogi State Government for the payment of school fees of the daughters of former governor, Yahaya Bello to dollars.
Abdullahi revealed this while speaking as the third prosecution witness in the trial of Ali Bello, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja on 18-count charges of money laundering and misappropriation to the tune of over N3 billion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
In a cross-examination by Ali Bello’s counsel, A.M. Aliyu SAN, Abdullahi affirmed that a dollar equivalent in cash was exchanged for each tranche of naira brought to him: “I made it clear that it was cash that was brought to my office for payment of the school fees,” he said,
An effort by the defence to evaluate a WhatsApp conversation between the witness and the second defendant, Abba Adaudu as evidence, was objected to by prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed, who argued that the copy of the WhatsApp conversation was unknown to the court.
Consequently, the defence requested an adjournment to enable it to furnish the prosecution with the WhatsApp chat.
Justice Egwuatu granted the request and adjourned the matter till November 6, 2024 for continuation of trial.
Ali Bello, cousin to Yahaya Bello is being prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside Adaudu, Yakubu Adabenege and Iyada Sadat.
Again, Trump wins 2024 US Presidential election
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