The government of Bayelsa State has once again urged youths in the state to refrain from polluting the environment by illegally refining petroleum products.
Governor Douye Diri made the statement over the weekend while addressing at an open-air funeral service in Odi, in the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state, in honor of late Elder Dick Akpolo.
He bemoaned the fact that illegal oil refining was exacerbating the long-standing problem of environmental pollution and degradation caused by international oil firms’ seismic and exploration activities in the Niger Delta.
Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who represented the governor, noted that unwholesome crude oil refining is a major contributor to the region’s extreme fluctuations in weather patterns.
He called illicit refining an act of environmental terrorism, stressing that the adolescents participating were not only putting their own lives in jeopardy, but also harming innocent people one by one.
He said: “Our youths must emulate the lifestyle of Pa Akpolo. He didn’t allow his environment and the circumstances of his birth to weigh him down to become an ingrate to God. He took to the worship of God and continue to soldier on.
“So, don’t say I have nobody to train me that is why I join secret cult or I’m vandalising pipelines or I’m taking to crime. If you read his biography, you will agree with me that he walked through the road of hardship.
“There is really nothing you are passing through today, that people had not passed through before. So, I want to use this opportunity to encourage especially our youths to desist from this acts of criminality.
“Our environment has already been polluted by the oil companies. We are suffering from that degradation. But now, you are adding to it by doing illegal refining. What you are doing is worse than what the oil companies are doing. You are killing all of us in installments.”
He also warned them to stay away from cultism and other illicit acts that taint the state’s good name, and to embrace the various government programs aimed at improving their lot.
When asked about Pa Dick Akpolo’s life and legacy, he said that despite his terrible circumstances, the departed octogenarian led a life worthy of emulation.
