Niger Delta: Diri advocates collaborative governance model to curb ocean surge

Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has advocated a collaborative governance model to arrest the threats from ocean rise to communities in the Niger Delta region.

Governor Diri, who spoke on Saturday at the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Summit preceding the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France, from June 9-13, called for collaboration among global, national and sub-national stakeholders in order to save communities from ocean surge in Niger Delta.

The Bayelsa governor said he was at the conference, which is being co-hosted by the governments of France and Costa Rica, in furtherance of his administration’s commitment to bring to global attention the environmental challenges of his region, and particularly Bayelsa State.

In his presentation during the panel session themed: ‘Multi-Level Governance of Coastal Cities and Regions’, Governor Diri emphasised the primacy of collaboration among stakeholders if the challenges of global warming, climate change and ocean rise would be adequately addressed.

He said Bayelsa communities face an ever-present threat from rising sea levels and coastal erosion as a result of its geographical location.

Diri stated that his administration had initiated innovative policies to address some of the issues, including creating a ministry.

His words: “As a coastal state, Bayelsa lies below the sea level and consequently faces the risks associated with ocean rise. About 70 per cent of its land area is occupied by rivers and it borders the Atlantic Ocean on its three senatorial flanks.

“Bayelsa is the first and the only sub-national in Nigeria to create a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2024 after President Bola Tinubu’s pioneering initiative in 2023. We have done a lot of policy innovation in the state in line with what the federal ministry has done.

“We are equally promoting mangrove restoration as a state with a lot of mangroves, rivers and rivulets. As a state bordering the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Guinea, Bayelsa communities face the threat of ocean rise and are either being destroyed or at the verge of being wiped out.

“I believe this is not the time to be looking at competitiveness but rather on some form of multi-governmental approach to address this challenge. This approach should look at collaborative and synergistic governance at the national, sub-national and international levels with all the stakeholders involved.”

The Bayelsa helmsman equally advocated for global funding support for affected states and communities.

“We are very glad to be part of this process, which if well coordinated would lead to sub-nationals like mine having access to climate funds and other supports. So, we believe that there has to be more of collaborative governance among stakeholders than the competitiveness we see,” he said.

The well-attended summit, which had in attendance a former United States Secretary of State and Special Envoy on Climate, Mr. John Kerry, attracted other global stakeholders, scientists and policymakers in a bid to address the challenges of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, climate adaptation and sustainable development.

Also present at the session were the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, and delegates from Lagos and Cross River states.

The Bayelsa governor was accompanied by Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba, and the Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Faith Zibs-Godwin.

Others were a director in the ministry, Mr. Wakedei Ere, and the Technical Adviser on International Development and Liaison, Mrs. Funkazi Koroye-Crooks.

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