Oil pollution: Bayelsa govt seeks help from Italy

By VICTORIA OJEME

ABUJA — The government of Bayelsa State has appealed to Italy to assist in remedying the state from environment degradation caused by oil pollution.

The Chief of Staff, Bayelsa House, Abuja, Chief Diekivie  Ikiogha, made the appeal, when he paid a courtesy call on the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Roberto Colamine.

Chief Ikiogha in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, called on the Italian government to help the state tackle its environmental challenges.

He noted that the peculiar terrain of the state as well as oil pollution, occasioned by oil exploration and vandalisation of oil pipeline, had thrown up enormous environmental challenges to government.

He appealed to the Italian Ambassador to support the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson by providing support to the development of the Niger Delta and the country as a whole.

In his remarks, Ambassador Colamine said the Italian government appreciated the commitment of Bayelsa government in developing the state and its people and assured of its partnership in the area of investment in agriculture and capacity building.

According to him: “Italian firms engaged in the manufacture of improved farm equipment are ready to supply tractors and allied equipment to the state as well as set up a manufacturing plant if the right environment exists.”

The Italian envoy also commended the Bayelsa governor for improving the security of the state, noting that though the Boko Haram crisis was worrisome initially, it had not stopped major economic and commercial activities in other parts of the country.

Italian companies, he revealed, were ready to invest in Nigeria, but needed the right economic environment and legal framework to operate effectively.

Bayelsa govt worries over Indiscriminate felling of trees

By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—Though the Bayelsa State Government had last year announced the ban on logging in its forests, several truck load of logs are still being transported out of the state daily.

The state deputy governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), in Yenagoa during the flag off of this year’s tree planting campaign, said that the government had taken proactive steps to stem the trend, leading to reforestation and conservation of forests and game reserves in the state.

According to him, government had already given approval for the upgrading of some forest reserves to become National Parks with a view to providing employment and boost eco-tourism in the state as well as approval for the recruitment of some forestry staff to boost the forestry sub-sector.

Recognising the necessity for the exploitation of trees for purposes of food, building materials, furniture, medicines, fibres and resins, he stressed the need for the people to know that trees also protect and preserve the environment, act as carbon sink by protecting the ozone layer from rapid depletion in order to ensure a balanced ecosystem to support life.

He directed the chairmen of the local government areas in the state to equally flag off the tree planting campaign in their domains and develop recreational parks in their areas.