Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Information and Communications, on Monday, accused security operatives in Rivers State of working with criminals who burst oil pipes leading to environmental pollution in the area.
Nsirim who declared the 2019 Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) open in Port Harcourt, insisted that there is a collaboration between those responsible for the pollution of the environment and those whose responsibility is to protect life and property in the area.
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“Journalists in Rivers State must rise to condemn the assault of Rivers environment by those who are supposed to protect us. The collaboration between the illegal bunkerers and those supposed to protect us is very close.
“We need to begin to interrogate the policies and programmes of the Federal Government as it affects the Rivers environment. What have journalists done about the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report that was released in 2011?
“We owe society a duty to ensure that we leave behind a worthy legacy. Posterity will judge us if we fail to make an impact and rewrite the history of Rivers environment. It is a challenge to all of us.”.