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By Amos Odeh, Yenagoa
Following the delay in carrying out proper remediation, given the oil leak that devastated the environment, the lawmaker representing Brass Federal Constituency in the House of Representative, Hon. Sunny Goli, has called on Conoil to swing into action to mitigate the adverse impact on both the eco-system and human lives.
The oil leak that occurred in Akassa, Brass Local Government Area, has continued to discharge volumes of oil into the environment, resulting in high level pollution, emission of toxic, noxious gas, and hydrocarbon which is injurious to human health.
Contained in a statement made available to journalists in Yenagoa, Hon. Goli reiterated the need for Conoil to take responsibility and move in without further delay to stop the noxious gas which is life-threatening from spreading further.
The statement read: “Regrettably while the previous oil leak is yet to be cleaned properly, another incident has occurred, emitting volumes of noxious gas at the Adriatic 1 offshore oil rig, Otuo field, OML 59, operated by Conoil Nigeria Producing Ltd, in Akassa, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, leaving inhabitants of the impacted communities, as well as the marine life in grave danger.
“This is the second time we are witnessing this ugly situation, particularly on this facility, operated by Conoil Producing Nigeria Ltd, as a similar noxious gas leak was experienced on it, some time ago in October, 2021, and nothing was done to mitigate the impact on the affected communities.”
Hon. Goli said that the impacted communities are Fishtown, Sangana, Okumbiri-Beleu, Opu-Okumbiri and Ogonibiri, while the leak has continued unabated with the spread going viral.
He stressed that as debilitating and life threatening that the incidents pose to inhabitants of the communities, the management of Conoil has shown absolute disregard for the sanctity of human lives, as well as the impacted environment.
The federal lawmaker pointed out that with a clear knowledge of the danger associated with inhaling noxious gas and hydrocarbon, which is life threatening, the management of Conoil would speedily evacuate all its staff, working on the Adriatic 1 offshore Oil rig, while measures are never in place for the safety of children, the youths and aged persons residing in the impacted communities.
Peeved by the double standard in dealing with their host communities, Hon. Goli said that “leaving the inhabitants of the impacted communities to their fate, without any recourse to putting in place concrete measures to mitigate the impact of the gas leak on the environment and its inhabitants, or carry out remediation work on the impacted environment, is the height of corporate irresponsibility from a corporate entity that should exhibit a good measure of rectitude.
He lamented the untold hardship that inhabitants of the affected communities whose natural occupation are farming, fishing, canoe carving and woodwork are grappling with owing to the oil leak that have destroyed their environment and economic life.
Accordingly, he noted that the oil leak has polluted the source of water of the impacted communities, as well as economic trees, farmlands and aquatic life, as lifeless fishes are seen floating on the surface of the river.
“The affected communities must not be left to wallow in pain, bearing in mind that they feed from their God-given marine environment, nor the misery of losing their sources of economic sustenance,” he said.
The lawmaker noted emphatically that such corporate nonchalance and high-handedness, as being exhibited by Conoil to neglect the impacted communities is unacceptable, and cannot be tolerated.
To this end, he called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and other relevant agencies of government to urgently swing into action and ensure that the company responsible for this environmental holocaust is held to account.
