– Urge Sylva, Wike to visit impacted communities
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Communities playing host to OML18 have urged the Federal Government to visit the scene of the ongoing Cawthorne Channel well15 blowout, operated by Eroton Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The communities particularly charged the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Minister of Environment, industry regulators as well as the operator to visit the area and carry out an audit on the damages being done to the environment by Eroton.
Speaking for the communities, a Niger Delta Activist and Former Spokesperson of the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said the audit is imperative, in order to make provisions to compensate the host communities.
Sara-Igbe also demanded that the Rivers State Government who receives 13percent derivative on behalf of host communities should also visit the area and provide relief materials to the people.
He warned that failure of the Federal and State Government and the management of Eroton to visit the area, will amount to insensitivity to the plight of the people.
“I am calling on the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Petroleum Resources to visit the area to carry out audit of the spillage. Just like Chief Timipre Sylva visited OMl29 blowout incident when it occurred.
“Failure to do so will mean that the federal government is being insensitive to the plight of the Niger Delta people.
“I am also calling on the Rivers State governor to visit that place and the immediate host community. He is the one receiving 13percent derivative on behalf host communities. Let them come and see how 13 percent has affected the people.”
The Niger Delta leader also urged the management of Eroton to urgently contained the spill, in order for it not to spread to other places and further endanger the Niger Delta environment.
He lamented that the two well blowouts recorded in the last six months, are from facilities formally operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
“I am also calling on Eroton to urgently do something about it. They (Eroton) should urgently clamp the spill and compensate the host communities.
“Because this spill will spread to other areas and also seeped into the ground. And because there will be no immediate remediation, the crude will stay for 70 years and further devastated the Niger Delta ecosystem.
“You know Shell is divesting to indigenous companies. And some of these their assets are old. It could be that the indigenous companies did not carry out due diligence or something is wrong somewhere. All the two blowouts in Kula territory both OML29 and OML18 are former Shell facilities.”
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