ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The people of Peremabiri community in Bayelsa State have berated Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) over its alleged insensitivity and neglect concering an oil spill that occurred in the area more than two weeks ago.
It was gathered that the chiefs, elders, youths and women in the coastal community on the bank of River Nun in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state said that the spill had yet to abate.
According to them, the continuous discharge of crude into the environment had pollutted the Nun River, swamps and farmlands causing untold hardship to the predominantly fishing and farming settlement.
The Chairman, Peremabiri Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr Return Koma, in a statement called on the government of Bayelsa State and regulators to rise to the occasion and halt the leak.
Koma also called on the state Ministry of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Environment and environment focused non-governmental organisations such as the Envronmental Rights Action (ERA) to intervene.
He noted that the leak had polluted the entire Diebu Creek area and caused the parties to compel oil firm to ensure a stoppage of the spill and ensure a comprehensive clean-up of the affected areas.
He said Peremabiri community was currently bleeding with oil spills as the whole river, swamps, ponds, farmlands and the general environment of the community had been devastated by the spillage.
He claimed that Shell had yet to take any step to mitigate the adverse impact of the oil and gas leakages polluting the areas.
According to him, the community had made concerted efforts to reach out to Shell to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to find out the cause, volume, extent and impact of the spillage and depressurize the facility but to no avail.
He claimed that the oil major had been foot-dragging to commence a visit to the impacted areas, and rather remained silent over the lingering incident.
Koma urged the state government, well-meaning individuals and all relevant environmental authorities to compel SPDC to ensure a speedy end to the leakage.
He called for the remediation of the spill site as well as the immediate constitution of a Joint Investigation Visit team to ascertain the remote and immediate causes of the incident.
Koma further called for relief materials from the government, SPDC and comprehensive health care arrangement for the directly affected people.
“We urge residents in the various fishing and farming settlements along the spill site to relocate to safer locations in view of the health implications,” Koma said.
It could not be immediately ascertained if the leak was from one of the many assets that SPDC divested from in recent moves to move out of land operations towards deep waters exploration.
End.