BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
The Ijaw National Congress has commended the Federal Government for ordering AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd., to stop operations on an oilfield in Bayelsa State.
The order followed an oil spill that occurred on November 5, 2021, in a form of a fountain within the proximity of Opu Nembe Community at Well 1, Well Head located at the Southern Field of Santa Barbara in Nembe Local Government Area of the state.
According to a statement on Tuesday in Abuja by the Press Director of the Ministry of Environment, Saghir el Mohammed, the halting of the company’s operations in the area was to enable a proper investigation into the recent unfortunate oil spillage to be carried out as well as to ensure that adequate measures are put in place for the safety of lives and property in the area.
Expressing his satisfaction to The Point about the government’s directive, the President of the INC, Benjamin Okaba, demanded that the order should be followed up with an immediate stoppage of the free flow of the substance and immediate drilling of an alternative oil well “so that the flow of that substance will be directed to that well.”
Also calling for an “immediate and massive clean-up” of the entire polluted environment, Okaba decried the state of hardship the oil spillage has caused the community while urging the government to come to the aid of residents in the area and stop being lenient to the erring companies because of the financial gains they get from them.
Okaba said, “When you talk about lively sources, a medical team and relief materials should be sent to those who have fallen sick, who don’t have water to drink, who don’t have food to eat due to the pollution of the entire environment. There is no water to even take their bath, in fact, if you get into that place, even without having contact with water, the smell of the crude will suffocate you. So, you are told to take coke and milk to reduce the impact. These are what people who live there are facing.
“On Wednesday, we were told that 200 bags of rice were sent, but you will not believe that the actual number of bags that got to the communities and villages were not even more than ten. Cups of rice were just being shared to people who don’t have food to eat and whose sources of livelihood have been crushed.
“Should there be any fire outbreak without a clean-up, it will lead to massive devastation. We are talking about 45 communities scattered around the area. The stoppage order is good, but let there be a presidential visitation. They should do a joint investigative visit where experts will be there to assess the immediate and remote causes of the damage and take action. The cause of the spillage is due to their equipment failure and this is just the beginning of so many things that will happen,” he warned.
Tuesday’s statement also disclosed that “upon receipt of the report of the incident, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), was set up,” while “the state Ministry of Environment, Community representatives and Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company was set up on Nov. 6, 2021 to immediately address the situation.”
Although Okaba noted that none of the joint committees have reached out to them or the affected communities, he urged the committees “not to compromise but should live up to their billing because one of the major problems of this country is that at the end of every investigation, it’s the local people that suffer.”
“When you talk about lively sources, a medical team and relief materials should be sent to those who have fallen sick, who don’t have water to drink, who don’t have food to eat due to the pollution of the entire environment. There is no water to even take their bath, in fact, if you get into that place, even without having contact with water, the smell of the crude will suffocate you. So, you are told to take Coke and milk to reduce the impact. These are what people who live there are facing
“
He expressed disappointment at the failure of “obnoxious policies of the government that tend to favour exploitation of oil at the expense of people that live in the place.”
He wondered how the Petroleum Industry Act would solve this problem.
“What about the issues of regulation? Is it solving it? There are even no penalties,” Okaba queried further.
“The company that caused this is even going behind to say that it was sabotage when they don’t even have what it takes when their real issue is equipment failure. They are throwing back the blame on innocent community members who are always bearing the brunt of oil exploration. These are critical factors we’ve been talking about but because it does not affect people up there, they don’t matter to anybody,” Okaba explained.
Appreciating the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, for sending a high powered delegation to the place and ordering them to take immediate action to address the issue, he admonished the company to promptly deal with this spillage “if they want to continue oil exploration activities in Bayelsa and other parts of Ijaw land.”
On her part, the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor who spoke with The Point about the government’s next line of action, disclosed that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency was already at the scene making assessments of the oil spill while awaiting the outcome of the AITEO oil spill report.
Ikeazor disclosed that the ministry will make it imperative to engage the oil-producing communities, adding that it was also essential to provide an alternative means of livelihood for those affected by the incident while also mapping out strategies to ensure that the recurrence of the incidence of oil spillage becomes a thing of the past.
She said, “We already have our team on the ground, the NESREA (National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency), an agency under the ministry. They are already doing the assessment of the oil spill and working out what will be done but the main thing is to prevent such incidents from happening.”
Ikeazor, who disclosed that she will soon be heading to Santa Barbra to engage with the community, stressed the need for surveillance and enforcement of regulations as a way of putting a stop to the recurring oil spill in the South-South region which has been a challenge.
Noting that the incidents were man-made, she pointed out that the use of artisanal refineries has devastated and destroyed their environment. She challenged the private and public sector, academia, the youth, even the media, to showcase the degradation caused by artisanal refining.
“As we are doing the Ogoni clean-up, pollution is going on in other areas. We can’t continue, so I plan to put a spotlight on artisanal refining. The Port-Harcourt suit was about artisanal refining.
“We have to end gas flaring as well. We have to harness our gas, use the natural gas for things like alternative cooking. NNPC is also coming up with their CNG conversion cars and all that. These are things we need to get in place fast.
“This Monday morning, I will be in the four local governments of Ogoni to have stakeholders meeting with the people, the women, the youths, their traditional rulers, civil societies, everyone. If we don’t do this together, we can’t win this war. So, when the report on AITEO comes out, we’ll then know what caused that spill,” she stated.
On the provision of rice by the government to the affected communities, the minister of state said she doesn’t support the idea of providing relief materials to those communities as that won’t solve their problem but the protection of their environment and the continued sustenance of their source of livelihood will.
“The important thing is to get to the root cause of this (incessant oil spillage). It’s not sending of palliatives or relief materials to the people that they want. Their environment was polluted, so help them protect it,” she concluded.
