Bayelsa Government and CSOs Unite Against Environmental Terrorism

The Bayelsa State Government has expressed its interest in collaborating with civil society organizations (CSOs) to intensify its advocacy efforts on human and environmental rights in the Niger Delta region.

The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, highlighted this initiative during a recent courtesy visit by the Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA) leadership at the Government House in Yenagoa.

In a statement issued by the media aide to the deputy governor, Ewhrudjakpo emphasized the importance of environmental and human rights issues to the state government, pointing out that the Federal Government has not adequately addressed the protection of the Bayelsa environment.

The state government is now ready to work closely with CSOs to create greater awareness on these issues.

HEDA chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, stated that their visit aimed to engage Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states in addressing environmental injustice and terrorism in the region.

He commended Bayelsa’s efforts in promoting advocacy on environmental injustice and terrorism and suggested that HEDA is eager to partner with the state government to further promote these efforts.

Suraju also mentioned that if other states in the Niger Delta had followed Bayelsa’s lead, global attention to the environmental challenges faced by the region would have been significantly higher.

The HEDA team also included the director of Corner House, United Kingdom, Mr. Nicholas Hildyard, and legal advisor Ms. Cecilia Ogwuche.

In a related development, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has called for the recruitment of more indigenes of the state into the Federal Fire Service to meet the employment quota allocated to the state.

This appeal was made during the commissioning of a rapid response fire-fighting truck deployed to the state command of the Federal Fire Service in Yenagoa.

Governor Diri, who was represented by his deputy, expressed disappointment in the underrepresentation of Bayelsans in several federal agencies using the quota system for employment.

He urged the Federal Fire Service to make deliberate efforts to employ Bayelsans to fill the quota allocated to the state for fairness and equity.

Furthermore, the governor called on the state command of the Federal Fire Service to initiate a fire safety awareness program on radio to educate people on fire prevention and response measures.

Governor Diri also noted that the newly deployed Slim-built Anti-fire Truck would enhance firefighting capabilities in the state and urged the Fire Service to deploy water craft fire-fighting equipment in riverine communities to mitigate fire outbreaks.

State controller of the Federal Fire Service, ACF Amos Diton, revealed that Bayelsa is the only state in the South-South and South-East regions to be allocated with the rapid response firefighting truck.

Diton thanked the state government for its continuous support to the Federal Fire Service in the state and appealed to the governor to provide the state command with land to build a functional operational office.

The collaboration between Bayelsa State and CSOs to address environmental terrorism and human rights issues in the Niger Delta region marks a significant step towards protecting the environment and promoting the well-being of its residents.