ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has called for concerted efforts in the implementation of policies and programmes towards the protection of the environment to promote healthy living in the country.
Diri made the call during the 2022 World Environment Day which was marked on Tuesday with the theme, ‘Only One Earth’, in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Governor noted that poverty reduction and environmental protection were intertwined and therefore must be taken seriously.
Diri decried practices abusing the environment such as tree cutting, indiscriminate burning of bushes, the unhealthy use of chemicals for edibles and illegal refining of petroleum products.
He called on all inhabitants of Mother Earth to behave responsibly in their interactions with the environment, while assuring that the government would continue to support all efforts targeted at protecting the environment.
He insisted that if the efforts of government towards the protection of the environment was sustained, significant progress would be made in the interest of the entire state.
Diri directed the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Lands and Housing to allocate land for the commencement of the Bayelsa Central Nursery and the establishment of a world class eco-laboratory.
The Governor stated: “The commissioner for environment had highlighted positive signals and trends that I am confident if sustained and strengthened over time, will offer Bayelsa State the opportunity to advance the narrative for a more sustainable future for us all.
“Within the limits of available resources, the government continues to fully support the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment and sister agencies and is resolved to have them equipped to adequately deliver on their mandate to monitor and protect the environment.
“We must be conscious of the need to protect the environment, we have only one earth. All of us must put environmental issues on the front burner. I call on all and sundry to behave responsibly in their interactions with the environment. Government will continue to play its role to make the environment safe.”
In his welcome address, Commissioner for the Environment, Chief Iselema Gbaranbiri, stated that government was conscious of the need to protect the environment, hence the deployment of a new legal regime and policy framework which would be unveiled in no distant time.
He expressed appreciation to Diri for supporting the ministry to achieve set goals and assured him that they would not rest on their laurels but put in more efforts to ensure that the environment is reasonably safe.
Delivering a lecture at the event, the Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Niger Delta University, Professor Meeting Andaowei, advocated the enforcement of laws protecting the environment and encouragement of environmental education in schools.
Andaowei also identified the formation of environmental action groups and disruption of the value chain of illegally refined products as some of the solutions to the environmental challenges facing the state.
The Chairman, State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, Hon. Ebi Ben Ololo, an environmentalist, Chief Okolo Ogobiriowei, among other speakers, stressed the need for conscious efforts such as tree planting to replenish the polluted environment.