SAN FRANCISCO, March 07, (THEWILL) – The Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson over the weekend described his state as the epicenter of all the blessings, prospects and challenges of the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
He stated this when a delegation led by the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed and the Minister of State in that Ministry, Ibrahim Jibril, paid him a courtesy call in Yenagoa, the state capital.
According to him, “You really can’t know the Niger Delta until you have visited Bayelsa State. This is the epicentre of the Niger Delta with all of its blessings, prospects and challenges.”
Dickson went on to accuse multinational oil companies operating in the region of double standards on issues relating to compensation for oil spills resulting from their exploration activities as well as remediation of the environment and payment.
His words, “All stakeholders have a role to play to address the weaknesses that are inherent in the institutions in this country, which some of the oil majors are exploiting and as it were to create two standards; one standard that is Nigerian and another that is Niger Delta where they can pollute and damage everything and suffer no consequences at all and another international standard, where if there is a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP will pay billions of dollars and pounds.”
