Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Affort to internationalise the campaign against environmental injustice in Bayelsa has caught the attention of the United Kingdom parliament with the Africa All Parliamentary Group (AAPPG) holding a session to discuss the impact of oil spills in the state.
The event was chaired by Chi Onwurah, a member of Parliament and Chair of the AAPPG, which has a membership of over 200 parliamentarians from across parties and houses. It is also one of the largest and most active APPGs in the UK parliament. This is coming on the heels of a similar recognition for the environmental campaign, Rise for Bayelsa, which won seven awards at the recent Prix de la Photographie Paris (Paris Photography Prize), in Paris, France.
The pictures showing environmental and human devastation as a result of oil spills in Bayelsa State were taken by award-winning photographer, Arteh Odijida. The Rise for Bayelsa Campaign, which is supported by the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, was launched in March this year and followed up by empaneling of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) chaired by the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu.
Chair of the BSOEC Expert Working Group (EWG), Dr. Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, who represented the commission at the parliamentary session, said the event was an excellent opportunity to highlight the challenges of the people of Bayelsa State at an international forum.
Nwajiaku-Dahou told journalists in Yenagoa at the end of the commission’s week-long stakeholders’ forum across the eight local government areas of the state that other panelists, which included Alexander Sewell, a lead researcher on Niger Delta at Stakeholder Democracy Network, and Martin Day, former chair of Greenpeace UK as well as guests, commended Governor Dickson’s commitment to tackling the issue of environmental injustice in the state and its potential impact on the Niger Delta region.
“The event provided the commission with an opportunity to share its work alongside high-profile stakeholders while simultaneously highlighting the challenges of the people of Bayelsa State in an international forum. The session focused on discussing environmental disasters and accountability of the extractives sector, specifically looking at lessons learned from the Niger Delta and planned clean-up.”
Meanwhile, the week-long stakeholders forum organised by the BSOEC was rounded off on Saturday with sessions held in Sagbama and Kolokuma/Opokuma local government areas respectively.