By Jennifer Y Omiloli
Mr. Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the state of environmental terrorism, which claimed the lives of several state residents.
Dickson alleged that Bayelsa’s people had been exposed to the most extreme level of pollution for more than 50 years without any respite from the activities of state-run oil multinationals.
He made the accusation at yesterday’s Dappa Biriye Conference Center in Yenagoa after receiving an interim report from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC).
Dickson, who respected the commission’s chairman, Mgr. John Sentamu and his leaders, urged them to continue mobilizing international support against Bayelsa residents’ environmental degradation and livelihood.
According to the governor, describing the situation as tragic, the matter was beyond his constitutional duty to protect the state’s people, but a personal one, since the phenomenon had affected him personally.
A simple blood sample taken from anyone living in the polluted parts of the state will yield very shocking results, according to the governor.
He said: “This is one of the world’s most tragic and ignored stories of what we do to each other as human beings. This is part of documenting our story. It is not just a part of my mandate to protect my people in all ramifications, but far more than that, this is personal.
