We were commissioned to conduct a review of the initial report and data in this project. Our work was conducted following the end of the project work (team selection, fieldwork, sample collection and analysis) in which we were not involved.

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Our assessment included visits to Bayelsa State, meetings with the principal author (Prof Tse), meetings at and with some of the laboratories which provided data, and verification of some of the reference material included in the original report.

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On the basis of our analysis following these extensive inquiries, we suggested changes to the original draft to improve the clarity of the analysis and provide more scientific background to the issues involved in this type of study.

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We thank those who we worked directly with and had support from including His Excellency Henry Dixon, the staff of the Governor’s Office for making our visit possible, Professor Tse for helpful discussions and comment, and the staff at the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission for facilitating so much with particular thanks to Dr Kathryn Nwajaku for her steady and delicate handling of the entire project on behalf of the Expert Working Group.

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We are impressed with the scope and extent of the work undertaken which we hope will provide a foundation for a cleaner future for Bayelsa State and consequently Nigeria. We support the recommendations of the authors and sincerely hope and recommend that the State and Nation take these seriously enough to make the change necessary.

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Foreword sent by Professor Alan Jamieson on 1 June 2020 to his scientific review.