The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Iselema Gbalabiri has reiterated the need for oil companies operating in the state to respect and implement the General Memorandum of Understandings. (GMoU), entered with their host communities.
To this end The Tide learnt the State’s Environment Commissioner has tasked oil companies operating in the state to begin the implementation of their GMoU before commencement of exploration and exploitation activities.
Iselema noted that this directive was inevitable as the government would want to avoid conflicts between multinationals and their host communities.
A press statement made available to newsmen by the state’s Ministry of Environment, quoted the Commissioner to have charged the oil companies operating in the state on fulfilling their responsibility on the GMoU, during an on-the-spot inspection tour of various oil spills sites in the state with members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Oil Spillage, Clean Up and Remediation, as well as the Bayelsa State House of Assembly Committee on Oil and Gas, alongside officials from the National Oil spill, Detection and Response Agency ( NOSDRA).
The Environment Commissioner according to the statement while in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area decried the level of degradation oil has caused to the environment and aquatic lives.
He lamented over the plight of host communities to oil companies, describing the situation as worrisome.
He noted that whereas, operators of the oil companies were living in luxury, the members of the host communities were living in abject poverty as a result of the neglect from the IOCs.
While reliving the problems of the people, the commissioner pleaded with the Federal Government to come to the aid of the communities by constructing roads and other infrastructures in the hinterlands of the state.
“Considering the huge amount of money gotten from these areas from oil exploration and exploitation activities over the years, the Federal Government should construct roads to link this communities”, he said.

By: AriweraIbibo-Howells,Yenagoa