By Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has called on the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to strengthen its response to Bayelsa environmental pollution, describing the state as the “headquarters of environmental pollution” in the Niger Delta.
The deputy governor made the appeal at the weekend when officials of NESREA’s Bayelsa Field Office, led by State Coordinator Mr. Stalin Nwakwoala, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Yenagoa.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, Ewhrudjakpo attributed the state’s worsening ecological crisis to more than six decades of crude oil exploration and exploitation. He said the scale of degradation in Bayelsa now exceeds that of Ogoni in neighbouring Rivers State.
He urged NESREA to work more closely with the state government in advancing environmental justice, stressing that the agency’s involvement should extend beyond joint investigation visits to oil spill sites.
According to him, repeated oil spills and emissions from seismic activities have contaminated rivers, creeks, and drinking water sources, leaving many rural communities without safe water.
“Aquatic life and sources of drinking water in most communities have been rendered unsafe for human consumption,” he said.
Ewhrudjakpo called for strict enforcement of national environmental laws to compel oil companies to take responsibility for the damage they cause to the Niger Delta ecosystem.
The deputy governor also raised concerns about the unregulated use of herbicides by local farmers, warning that many lack proper safety knowledge. He said the chemicals contaminate crops and pose significant health and environmental risks.
“Those chemicals that kill grasses and weeds also have the capacity to harm humans,” he noted, adding that rainwater often washes the residues into soil and food crops, exposing communities to carcinogenic substances.
To strengthen NESREA’s presence in the state, Ewhrudjakpo directed Nwakwoala to liaise with the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Irorodamie Komonibo, and the Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, to create more employment opportunities for Bayelsans within the agency. He also stressed the need for robust public sensitization campaigns on the dangers of Bayelsa environmental pollution.
“In some areas, when you dip your hand into the water and bring it out, what you see is crude oil. We are consuming fish and seafood heavily polluted by crude oil,” he added.
Responding, Nwakwoala highlighted NESREA’s ongoing sensitization programmes on environmental pollution, indiscriminate bush burning, tree felling, and land degradation. He noted the agency’s collaboration with the State Environmental Sanitation Authority in monitoring monthly sanitation exercises.
However, he appealed for increased government support, particularly in the provision of office equipment to boost the agency’s operations.
Nwakwoala was accompanied on the visit by Chief Geologist Mr. Royal Owupele, Chief Scientific Officer Mrs. Ebipador Udo-Umoh, and Scientific Officer Mr. Okpe James.
