The governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has described High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, as an “extreme nationalist” who has displayed “nationalism in the highest of its form to the people of the Niger Delta” through his influence of the siting of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, ADRC, in the region.
Governor Diri gave the commendation during the handing over of the newly built Finance building to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at a brief ceremony held in Yenagoa on Monday, June 19, 2023. The NUPRC is part of the ADRC set up to resolve disputes in oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta region.
Present at the handover ceremony is a NUPRC delegation led by the Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Community and Environment in the Commission, Captain Roland Tonlagha.
At the ceremony, Governor Diri stated that Tompolo displayed nationalism in the highest form to the people of the Niger Delta region, who, having heard of attempts to locate the ADRC in Lagos, influenced its location to Bayelsa State.
“This building was designed and tagged as the building meant for the Ministry of Finance, and it was completed on record time,” said Governor Diri during a brief presentation at the ceremony. “And so, the Ministry of Finance was preparing and warming up to pack into their new building.
“However, within the same period, I received a letter from the NUPRC requesting an office space for an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre [ADRC] to be established here in Bayelsa State in Yenagoa, which from all the information we had, was to be centred in Lagos. And one of our sons, who learned about it, came against it and started moving towards relocating the ADRC to the region where the dispute originated,” the governor disclosed.
“So, I like to, at this juncture, commend one of our extreme nationalists, a very prosperous Ijaw son, Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo, for being one of the strong voices behind the relocation of the ADRC to the centre where you have the disputes.
“So, on behalf of the Government and good people of Bayelsa State, we send our warm greetings to our brother, who has displayed nationalism in the highest of its form to the people of the Niger Delta, and indeed to the Ijaw ethnic nationality.
“Having said that, I hereby, on behalf of the Government and the good people of Bayelsa State, hand over this edifice to you as a temporary office,” Governor Diri stated.
Formerly known as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the NUPRC is a Nigerian Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (FMPR) department. Among its functions is monitoring the oil and gas industry to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and laws, as well as overseeing the safety and other regulations related to the exportation and importation of the products into the country, among others.
