(PRESS STATEMENT)
A former Commissioner for Information in Bayelsa State, Daniel Iworiso-Markson has commended the state governor, Senator Douye Diri for the initiative to present the final report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) to the international community.
He said it was the right thing to do as the issue deserved global attention, just as most of the culprits in the environmental genocide have their headquarters abroad.
Iworiso-Markson while applauding the governor for the bold step, also thanked him for not allowing the work of the Commission to die, noting that if not for the recent event in London, a lot of people had long forgotten about it.
The former Commissioner in a statement, observed that with the public presentation of the report, Diri has again displayed his penchant for continuing and completing projects and policies of his predecessors.
According to him, while Diri has initiated his own laudable projects, he has also been working hard to complete those he inherited, which includes the Senatorial roads, “that is at the core of the state’s quest for accelerated development”.
He said: “It was exciting to see Governor Diri leading a powerful delegation to the United Kingdom to present the final report of the investigation of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission to the international community.
“This is something a lot of people thought had died. But Governor Diri has shown that he is clearly ready to seek every legal and available means to get justice for people of the state that has suffered years of devastating effects of oil exploration activities in their land.
“I commend him sincerely for that and I want to say that his action shows he is in touch with issues that affects his people. Recently, as I went round in my campaign for House of Representatives, I saw again how badly our people are suffering because of the massive pollution. It is a serious issue”.
Drumming support for the governor’s resolve to get justice for people of the state, Iworiso-Markson appealed to Bayelsans to shun political sentiment and join him to achieve the feat.
He emphasized that the issue goes beyond politics and also called on the incoming federal government to support the renewed effort of the Bayelsa state government to get justice, stressing that it is not a witch-hunt but a call for the oil companies to take full responsibility.
He maintained that nearly all communities in the state suffer from the adverse effect of oil exploration including severe health problems like cancer, stunted growth, immune system effects, and countless deaths while their aquatic and farm lives, a major source of their livelihood remain completely devastated.
While insisting on the need for the urgent implementation of the report, he urged Environmental Rights Activists, Pan-Ijaw groups like the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to take the lead to avoid the report going the way of similar reports that have since gathered dust in the archives.
“I am calling on all Bayelsans irrespective of political divide, groups like the IYC, INC and others to own the report and support the effort to seek for redress, urgent remediation and compensation from the IOCs who are more concerned with their bottom lines”, he said.
He vowed to launch a campaign soon that will provide a platform for the immediate commencement of the implementation of the BSOEC report by the oil companies.
“It is not a time to play politics with this report. Every right thinking person must join hands with the state government and make sure the report is fully implemented.
“This is something that I consider too important to joke with. As a matter of fact I will be collating signatures very soon for those willing to join me and others who have already indicated interest to carry out massive campaign to institutions of government like the National Assembly to ensure the oil companies do the needful.
“I call on the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu to also pay attention to this issue. It must not be swept under the carpet. We have suffered too much from the effects of oil exploration activities. The constant flooding we experience can also be attributed to it. So, we must get the IOC’s to carry out remediation”, he added.
