The Bayelsa State government has charged youths to desist from polluting the environment through illegal refining of petroleum products.
Governor Douye Diri made the call over the weekend while speaking at the funeral service in honour of late Elder Dick Akpolo at Odi, in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, enjoined youths to emulate the life of the octogenarian, urging them to desist from cultism and other criminal activities tarnishing the good image of the state.
He lamented that illegal oil refining was adding to the problem of environmental pollution and degradation caused by exploration activities of the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta.
According to him, “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 continued to soldier on.
“So, don’t say I have nobody to train me that is why I join a 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 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 these 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 instalments.”
