Bayelsa community decries oil spillage, seeks urgent clean up
He said: “Here, when any spillage occurred they will say it is sabotage. Does it mean that the oil cannot be cleaned after the pollution?
Sites of the well heads from Agip spilling oil to streams in Tein community
Tein community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa has decried the incessant oil spillage as a result of the activities of oil companies operating in the area.
Niger Delta Trust gathered that the community experienced several oil spills over the years, which they said was a result of equipment failure on Wellheads operated by oil companies.
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It was observed that oil spill, which occurred in the Biseni Asamabiri cluster and Obiobio community between March and February 2020, in a facility owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has caused serious pollution in the environment.
A community leader in Tein community, Chief David Obuma, said over the years, the Biseni clan has suffered a lot from the activities of oil companies alleging that they have failed to carry out the cleaning of the environment after spillage.
He said: “Here, when any spillage occurred they will say it is sabotage. Does it mean that the oil cannot be cleaned after the pollution?
“They always term any oil spill sabotage, meaning somebody must have burst the pipe, who is the person, no name, so, we are worried.
“Last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, around March, there was a spillage in 14 inches pipe beginning from the cluster to Obiobio, in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, before the people realised. They came with excavators, without even letting the chiefs know that such a thing has happened.
“They covered it up till today. We have written letters to Agip, they have not done anything throughout last year, the oil was spreading throughout the area.
“We are hosting Agip and Shell in Tein community, they should listen to us and do something to ensure that the environment is not polluted.
“Our concern is, if the environment is polluted, it will not be a matter of the present generation, but generation unborn will suffer ,” he said.
He also urged the government to come to their aid and impress on the oil companies to assist the people.
The head of Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in Bayelsa State, Comrade Alagoa Morris, said the spill in the Biseni clan has not yet been cleaned up.
Both Shell and Agip are yet to respond to inquiries sent to them.