Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State has demanded $12 billion from international oil companies (IOCs) over 12 years to address severe environmental and public health damages in Bayelsa caused by decades of oil exploration. Speaking at the International Oil Pollution and Just Transition Conference in Abuja, Diri highlighted the devastating effects of oil spills, gas flaring, and pollution on Bayelsa’s rivers, farmlands, and communities.
“Our rivers, once full of life, now flow with toxic residues,” Diri stated. Once reliant on fishing and farming, Bayelsa’s people now struggle to survive as polluted lands and waters have decimated traditional livelihoods, leaving families facing severe health and economic hardships.
Citing a recent report titled An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Costs of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria, Diri detailed the staggering consequences: widespread cancer, deformities, respiratory diseases, and a life expectancy that has fallen to just 50 years. One study estimated that oil spills in 2012 alone resulted in over 16,000 additional neonatal deaths across the Niger Delta.
Diri’s $12 billion demand from IOCs aims to fund extensive environmental and public health restoration efforts, support a transition to renewable energy, and provide alternative livelihoods. He called on other oil-producing states to join in the “battle for environmental justice” to secure a sustainable future.
The Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, noted the immense scale of pollution in Bayelsa, describing it as “pure environmental genocide” and highlighting the urgent need for action to repair the “warped future” caused by extractive industries.
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