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Bayelsa Demands US$12 billion from IOCs for Environmental and Health Damages through Oil Exploration

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Bayelsa Demands US$12 billion from IOCs for Environmental and Health Damages through Oil Exploration

By: Michael Mike

Bayelsa State Governor,Duoye Diri has demanded from international oil companies (IOCs) US$12 billion over the course of 12 years for the repair, remediation and restoration of the environment and public health damage caused by oil and gas exploration and to lay the foundations for Bayelsa’s just transition towards renewable energy and opportunities for alternative livelihoods.

The governor made the demand on Wednesday in Abuja at the International Oil Pollution and Just Transition Conference.

He lamented that: “Not too many decades ago, we could cast nets into abundant waters, reaping enough catch to nourish entire families. However, the oil boom has brought doom. Our lifeblood – our rivers – now flow with toxic oil residue instead of vibrant life.

“We are a people of the river and the land; fishing and farming were once our essence. These vocations, passed down through generations, taught us patience, respect for nature, and the value of hard work. But the unchecked activities of International Oil Companies (IOCs) have turned the prolific rivers and fertile soil of Bayelsa into a wasteland.”

He equally decried that: “Our breadwinners, robbed of their ancestral legacy, toil on unforgiving, polluted land and fish in toxic waters, only to return with empty nets. Their families face crippling hunger and suffocating despair.”

The governor, who revealed that he just received a report from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, titled “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Costs of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,” said: “One study estimates that in 2012 alone, oil spills in Nigeria, and predominantly in the Niger Delta resulted in over 16,000 additional neonatal deaths.”

He stated that: “Indeed, Oil pollution and relentless gas flaring have engendered a grim tapestry of alien health conditions in Bayelsa; children are being born with severe deformities, respiratory diseases flourish, stubbornly defying even the most advanced medical interventions and therapies. Cancers, once a rarity have surged in prevalence, infiltrating the villages like a spectre that haunts the very fabric of daily life.

“The environment itself has become a crucible of suffering. The air hangs thick with toxins, while the water, once a source of life, now flows with pollutants that carry the weight of despair. This unrelenting barrage of environmental degradation has transformed Bayelsa into an epicentre of health crises, forging a reality where illness and suffering have become the norm rather than the exception.”

Diri said the report notes that as a direct consequence, “Life expectancy in Bayelsa has plummeted to just 50 years” sinking well below levels deemed acceptable by global standards, adding that: “Despite these burdens, we continue to demonstrate an indomitable spirit, navigating daily struggles with a painful resilience that belies our longing for a healthier and more hopeful future.

He noted that: “This Report therefore, has not only captured our plight, but it has also amplified our voice; a voice that has cried out for decades, unheard. For too long, we’ve pleaded for mercy, only to be met with indifference. Our children’s futures, our heritage, and our very existence hang in the balance. And today, I bring that voice before you.”

The governor said: “Let me echo a resounding call of the Commission to the IOCs that: “concerted international action to generate and invest at least US $12 billion over the course of 12 years to repair, remediate and restore the environmental and public health damage caused by oil and gas and to lay the foundations for Bayelsa’s just transition towards renewable energy and opportunities for alternative livelihoods, adding that: “This I believe is not limited to Bayelsa State alone, therefore, I call on my brother Governors from the oil producing states to join hands with us in this battle for environmental justice.”

In his welcome address , the Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, said the conference comes at a pivotal moment in the socioecological history of Nigeria, noting that: “Extractivism and accompanied pollution has wreaked extensive damage in the physical, socioeconomic and cultural spheres of our national life. They have worked together to build a warped future, which must be deconstructed, and reconstructed.”

He revealed that: “The report highlighted the incredible extent of petroleum pollution in Bayelsa State and has given us a vivid picture of the extreme damage that almost seven decades of crude oil exploitation has done to the entire Niger Delta region particularly with regard to both environmental and human health. It is pure environmental genocide and there is no way to sugarcoat its horrors.”

He noted that: “The report is riddled with facts that are almost unimaginable. For example it tells us that there is a 1.5 barrels per capita crude oil pollution of Bayelsa State. It affirms an atrocious level of harm visited on the state including that there is the total hydrocarbons pollution of the water in the state at 1 million times above safe or acceptable standards. One million times above safe standards.

“We note that the pollution is from both old and active wells, flow stations and pipelines. Indeed, abandoned and decrepit oil infrastructure continue to pose extreme menace to the environment and the people of the State. Some communities have been ripped apart by canalization; while others face the threat of being washed into the ocean by combined forces of subsidence, sea level rise and coastal erosion.

“Our water channels are blatantly and recklessly used as waste dumps for produced water and sundry harmful wastesin disregard to ecological and human safety. Our lands and water bodies are privatized and damaged, through acts of egregious industrial vandalism and systemic environmental racism, emanating from the worst forms of colonial resource extraction and land grabbing.”

Bayelsa Demands US$12 billion from IOCs for Environmental and Health Damages through Oil Exploration

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VP Shettima’s Agricultural Assessment Visit To Ethiopia

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VP Shettima’s Agricultural Assessment Visit To Ethiopia

By: Our Reporter

An agricultural economist by training whose love for agricultural transformation and development has never been hidden, as demonstrated recently when he visited the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan for an on-the-spot assessment of the Institute’s crops and resource potentials, Vice President Kashim Shettima today embarked on an assessment of the popular Adama Industrial Zone near Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

Farms visited by the Vice President for the on-the-spot assessment included the Adama Dairy Farms, Luke Avocado Nursery site, Shera Dibandiba Mojo Family Integrated Farm, Biyyo Poultry Farm, and the Bishoftu Pea Farm.

While speaking on areas of agricultural collaboration between both countries, the Vice President ordered specialised coffee beans seeds for massive production in Nigeria while also directing the immediate training of selected Nigerian agricultural extension farmers on the production of specialized avocado seedlings for the Nigerian market.

VP Shettima also sought an exchange of mechanisation technologies between both countries, stressing that the potential of both Nigeria’s and Ethiopia’s agricultural sectors was capable of capturing world markets, especially when fully harnessed and exploited.

VP Shettima’s Agricultural Assessment Visit To Ethiopia

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Leboku-in-Abuja 2025 Festival Celebrates New Year Festival to Bolster Nigeria’s Rich Cultural Heritage

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Leboku-in-Abuja 2025 Festival Celebrates New Year Festival to Bolster Nigeria’s Rich Cultural Heritage

By: Michael Mike

One of the nation’s most celebrated events, the New Year Festival would berth in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the Kedei Seh Umor-Otutu, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy stage the Lenoku-in-Abuja 2025.

It promises to bolster Nigeria’s cultural heritage and showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Yakurr people in Cross River, the South-South and South-East in the nation and the world at large.

Addressing a pre-festival press conference in Abuja, President of Kedei Seh Umor-Otutu, a community-based association, Queency Patrick said the forthcoming festival with the theme: “A celebration of heritage, unity and harvest,” is one of the kind.

She explained that Lenoku-in-Abuja 2025 is an internationally acclaimed New Yam festival that is celebrated on August 30 in Abuja, under auspices of Kedei Seh Umor-Otutu, an association of Ugep people living in the FCT.

Patrick said: “Leboku-in-Abuja-2025 aligns with national goals of cultural preservation, inter-ethnic harmony and in promoting Nigeria as a cultural destination.

“The Federal Capital Territory provides the ideal backdrop to unite heritage and modernity, welcoming all who believe in peace, identity and pride of origin.

“For us, it is not just a cultural event, it is a call to national unity, peace and cultural tourism development.

“It is also an opportunity for us to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Yakurr people in Cross River, the South-South and South-East in the nation and the world at large.”

She further explained that: “The event fosters appreciation of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic-root and culture. Leboku-in-Abuja is more than a festival, it is a stage for celebrating our cultural identity, building bridges through tradition and encouraging investment in the creative economy and tourism sector.”

According to her, Mr Obi Asika, DirectorGeneral/CEO of the National Council for Arts and Culture, had in a letter which formally endorsed the association’s collaboration with government described Leboku-in-Abuja, as annual New Yam Festival celebrated in Abuja by Yakurr people of Cross River.

Patrick further quoted him by saying the Leboku festival, deeply rooted in the traditions of the Yakurr people of Cross River, has long been a symbol of unity, celebration, and agricultural prosperity.

Asika, in the letter noted that: “Bringing this renowned festival to Abuja will provide a unique opportunity for cultural exchange, tourism development, and deeper appreciation of our diverse traditions.

“It aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and NCAC’s mandate to promote arts and culture, as essential drivers or Nigeria’s creative economy,” Asika added.

Patrick revealed the event would provide platform for public lecture, economic empowerment, traditional food festival, cultural and arts exhibition, sports, agriculture, trade and tourism development.

The event scheduled to hold at the Bolton White event centre, Wuse Zone 7, Abuja is centered on promoting unity and peace with the toga: “One Yam, One People.”

Leboku-in-Abuja 2025 Festival Celebrates New Year Festival to Bolster Nigeria’s Rich Cultural Heritage

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Crisis brews in Gombe SDP as Yakubu emerges acting chairman

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Crisis brews in Gombe SDP as Yakubu emerges acting chairman

The Gombe State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has appointed a new chairman, Aaron Yakubu to serve in acting capacity following the suspension of its state chairman, Comrade Adamu Abubakar Modibbo, over allegations of mismanagement, lack of transparency, and misuse of party resources.

His suspension was announced at a news conference held in Gombe on Saturday by the party’s Welfare Secretary, Usman Yahaya, on behalf of concerned members of the state executive.

Reading the statement, Yahaya said there were countless complaints against the now suspended chairman, whom he said had side-lined party stakeholders and running the party like his personal property.

“Since Comrade Modibbo assumed office, the party has experienced no meaningful progress. Instead, the leadership claims he has used his position to witch-hunt loyal stakeholders and frustrated committed party members for his personal gain.”

He accused Modibbo of systematically “caging” the party’s executive members and aspirants, depriving over 90% of both returning and newly acting executive members of access to official SDP membership cards.

He further alleged that the selection of party candidates has been done without due process or consultation, with names being announced solely via national platforms involving prominent figures like Malam Nasir El-Rufai, thereby side-lining the state executive.
Yahaya also accused the suspended chairman of allegedly using his personal residence as the de facto party office.

This, the executives say, violates proper procedures and comes despite funds being made available to renovate the official state party office and rent offices across the local government areas.

“As it stands, the SDP in Gombe State does not have a functional or recognised operational office,”

In the light of the above weighty and numerous allegations against Modibbo, the Welfare Secretary said that the Gombe State chapter of the party has taken decisive action by suspending Comrade Adamu Abubakar Modibbo as chairman with immediate effect.

“In this regard, we hereby announce that the current State Secretary of the party, Mr. Aaron Yakubu, will now serve as the Acting State Chairman of the SDP in Gombe.

“Similarly, Ambassador Lukman Adamu Elkanem, previously serving as the Acting Assistant Public Relations Officer, has now been appointed as the Acting State Secretary of the party.”

Yahaya, on behalf of the state chapter of the SDP, appealed for intervention from the national body of the party to look into the allegations against the former chairman and to restore discipline, accountability, and credible leadership to the Gombe chapter of the party.

Speaking shortly in an interview, Yakubu said he would work to build inclusiveness in the party and ensure all party members were carried along in line with the constitution of the party.

He stated that out of the 13 working committee members of the party, nine were present and in support of the suspension of Modibbo.

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