The Convener and Founder, Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo has hailed the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri for what he called “his historic approval” to host the DeltasUnite Global Governance Centre – the Governance Secretariat on Global River Deltas – in Bayelsa State.
Kiyaramo’s commendation is coming on the heels of Diri’s announcement in faraway Shanghai, China while declaring open the 5th United Nations Ocean Decade Conference on Mega Deltas and the Formal Commencement of China-Africa Cooperation on River, Coastal Zone and Delta Governance at the East China Normal University (ECNU) recently.
The conference was attended by delegates from no fewer than 23 countries, including United Nations officials, policymakers, researchers, scholars, environmental NGOs, and representatives of impacted delta communities.
While describing the approval as “a defining moment for Bayelsa, Niger Delta, and Africa’s 500 million delta citizens, Kiyaramo said: “Governor Douye Diri has once again demonstrated visionary, bottom-up leadership. By approving the Global Governance Centre in Yenagoa, he has not merely hosted a secretariat; he has positioned Bayelsa as the governance capital for the world’s 11,000 deltas. This is the Yenagoa Declaration the world has been waiting for.”
Giving an insight into the development, he noted that Diri’s declaration in Shanghai strengthens ABER’s mandate which has its headquarter in Yenagoa, and aligns directly with advocacy for the proposed United Nations Convention on River Deltas (UNCRD).
According to him, the Shanghai Conference, anchored by ECNU’s world-leading expertise on the Yangtze Delta, serves as the global science hub for mega deltas. The approval of the Governance Secretariat in Yenagoa which is also ABER’s Global Headquarters, creates its twin governance hub. What is deliberated as science in Shanghai will be governed as
policy from Yenagoa. This represents parity and co-leadership, not aid.
He noted that the formal commencement of China-Africa Cooperation on River, Coastal Zone and Delta Governance marks a strategic shift from port infrastructure to Source-to-Sea governance.
He averred that China brings cutting-edge technology in floating solar, mangrove restoration, blue carbon accounting, and aquaculture, while ABER brings continental legitimacy, a Blue Council Africa, and the trust of impacted communities.
His words: “ECNU cannot work in 500 African delta communities. ABER can. We are the Pan-African delivery mechanism to ensure Chinese delta technology becomes community-owned African solutions.”
According to Kiyaramo, ABER’s Blue Council Africa will collaborate with the DeltasUnite Centre in Yenagoa to operationalize ABER’s twin pillars: To co-create with ECNU the first Africa-China Inventory of Underwater Minerals, Blue Carbon Stocks and Traditional Delta Knowledge; and to establish Delta Living Labs in Yenagoa and across Africa, where women own the cold chain and youth own the data under a 50/50 gender parity framework.
Maritime Bits checks revealed that Diri who chaired the opening session, had declared: “I have approved the DeltasUnite Governance Secretariat in my state of Bayelsa. It will serve as our platform to bring communities, scientists, governments and indeed investors to identify priorities, share evidence, and shape practical, bankable responses… That conviction underpins my support for the proposed United Nations Convention on River Deltas.”
Kiyaramo echoed Diri’s commitment to inclusive governance, noting that it aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and with ABER’s core principle that those who live with the consequences must help design the solutions.
He also applauded Mr. Freeman Oluowo, Coordinator of the African Centre for Climate Actions and Rural Development (ACCARD) and International Facilitator of DeltasUnite for confirming that work on the UN Convention on River Deltas has reached the White Paper stage.
“Everyone sees Bayelsa’s land. Governor Diri sees its water. Everyone sees the Niger Delta’s oil. We see its blue future. Shanghai gave us the science. Yenagoa will now give the world the governance. This is why ABER is headquartered in Yenagoa. Bayelsa is ready to lead,” he added.
