Speaker leads Lawmakers to acquire skills on Natural Resources Governance

The Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Kombowei Benson, is leading about 20 other lawmakers in the state to undergo a two-day training workshop on ‘Best Practice Mechanisms for Natural Resources Governance’.

The training is organised by a Niger Delta-based civil society organisation, the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development in collaboration with Amnesty International London.

The workshop/training began in Yenagoa, the state capital.

In his welcome address, CEHRD’s co-ordinator, Nenibarini Zabbey, emphasized the need for the enhancement of the understanding of various instruments for sustainable management of natural resources in order to protect human rights.

Zabbey, who said that the natural resources were “fast depleting due to uncontrollable exploitation and poor management”, noted that the legal and regulatory frameworks in place were ineffective.

“The current paradigm of natural resources governance emphasizes adaptive management and systems thinking. This simply means stakeholders’ participation in the management chain,” Zabbey added.

In his remarks, Konbowei Benson, the speaker of the Assembly, said that training and capacity building was necessary to make society and institutions function better, especially in law-making.

He described the theme for the training as apt, adding that the forum came at a time when “the Niger Delta environment has been so bastardized, distorted and wasted”.

“We are open to building our capacity any time the need arises. Training or capacity building is a continuous process in life,” Benson stated.

The Political Secretary in charge of Human Rights at the Embassy of The Netherlands, Abuja, in its goodwill message through Angelique van der Made, urged the participating lawmakers to ensure they gained useful insights that would make them more useful in their legislative business.

In his goodwill message, the Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nnimmo Bassey, noted that the region, as one of the world’s largest wetlands, was among the top 10 most polluted places on earth.

Bassey, who was represented by Constance Meju, a board member of CEHRD, said that “being a lawmaker in the Niger Delta is more than a full time job.”

Also, Rev. Father Edward Obi, the national co-ordinator of National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spill in the Niger Delta, observed that oil and gas-related tensions would be reduced where appropriate institutions exist to adequately mediate and ensure development that places the human person at the centre.

Resource persons including Fidelis Allen and Austin Onuoha presented papers on ‘Using Legislative Oversight Functions to Strengthen Compliance of Nigerian Environmental Regulations’ and the  “Role of the Legislature in the Implementation of International Instruments on Business and Human Rights,” among others.