Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has urged multinational oil companies operating in the state and the Niger Delta as a whole on the protection of the environment, particularly in the areas of crude oil pollution and gas flaring.
Dickson stated this when he held separate meetings with the managements of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) at Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday.
His Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Francis Ottah Agbo, in a statement, said the governor decried the level of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, noting that, no serious effort
has been made to address the problems, in spite of the outcry of the people over the years.
Dickson, who described Bayelsa as a state with an unenviable title of pollution, stressed the need for effective collaboration between the government and the oil companies to tackle the menace with a view to ensuring peace, stability and development.
He specifically called on the oil majors to come up with a concrete plan of action on remediation of polluted sites and intensify efforts at stopping gas flaring in the region.
Dickson used the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Alessandro Tiani on his appointment as the new general manager, District, NAOC and expressed optimism that, he would employ his wealth of experience to push the frontiers of development.
Describing development as a collective responsibility, he also called on the SPDC to support the state government’s Education Trust Fund, health insurance scheme and sports development initiatives.