Rivers Assembly probes Renaissance Africa Energy over oil spill devastation

Port Harcourt — The Rivers State House of Assembly has launched an investigation into allegations that Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited failed to clean up and compensate victims of a major oil spill that ravaged the B-Dere community in Gokana Local Government Area.

The Assembly’s action followed a petition presented on the floor by the Deputy Speaker, and signed by ESV Hamilton Odom on behalf of the affected community through their Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Hamilton Odom & Co.

In the petition, the community alleged that the oil spill, which occurred on May 7, 2025, along the 24 Ogale-Bomu Pipeline operated by the company, destroyed farmlands, polluted underground water, and crippled local livelihoods.

According to the petitioners, a joint investigation team comprising officials from the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and representatives of the community confirmed that “the cause of the leak was equipment failure.”

They stated that “the spill had a devastating impact on vegetation health leading to stress, defoliation, and death. The toxic hydrocarbons penetrated plant tissues, disrupted water and nutrient intake, and caused stunted growth and plant mortality.”

The community lamented that, months after the incident, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited had not undertaken cleanup or paid any compensation despite earlier meetings with community representatives ending in a stalemate.

“More worrisome is the indifference and silence of the company over all matters relating to the spill after the initial meeting between the representatives of the company and the community to agree on a fair or adequate compensation sum ended in a deadlock,” the petition read in part.

The petitioners urged the House to intervene urgently, insisting that the company should bear full responsibility for the spill since it resulted from equipment failure.

They further demanded “immediate appraisal and payment of compensation for economic losses, damage to livelihoods, and environmental degradation,” as well as a “comprehensive cleanup, remediation, and restoration of the affected land and water sources.”

In response, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, referred the petition to the House Committee on Public Complaints and Petitions, chaired by Hon. Dr. Enemi Alabo George, for immediate action.

George assured that the committee would treat the matter with urgency.

“The concerns of the B-Dere community will receive the attention they deserve. We will engage all parties to ensure justice is served and environmental responsibility upheld,” he said.