‘Nigeria lacks will to address devastation in Niger Delta’

Chairman of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) and Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, has decried lack of political will by the Nigerian government to address environmental devastation in the Niger Delta region.

Senatamu, who spoke in Yenagoa on Tuesday when 60 communities approached his commission to present oral and documentary evidence of environmental pollution caused by oil companies operating in their areas, said it was time for total cleaning and remediation of the affected communities.

The 10-man commission inaugurated by Governor Seriake Dickson in March held a roundtable with non-governmental organisations, environmental and health experts.

The panel comprising international environmental and legal experts visited six ravaged communities in Southern Ijaw, Brass and Yenagoa local government areas of the state.

The commission held public evidence session and gave impacted communities an opportunity to give oral evidence of devastation and neglect by oil companies operating in their areas.

The Traditional Ruler of Agudama community, MC Kipasa, told the commission that they recorded many oil spill incidences from the operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

He said: “We don’t have fish in our river anymore. Even our land for farming is gone. Nothing is left for us due to these oil spills”.

He, however, thanked Dickson for giving them hope by setting up the commission.

An Agbura community leader, Chief Igwe Napoleon, while giving evidence said the farmland and river in his community had been polluted because of oil exploration and accused Shell of reneging on terms of agreement signed with communities in the area.

Stephen Moses from Egbema-Angalabiri also spoke on the devastating effects of environmental pollution on his community, lamenting that oil production had become a curse to his community instead of a blessing.

The Representative of communities where the Obama oil field with about 12 wells are located, L. A. Eminah also complained about the effects of gas flaring in the area, saying the heat from the flares had resulted in blurred vision among the locals.

Other speakers were Donatus Gbame from Bakiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area; Hitler Joseph from Okoroba community; Ken Again who represented the Amananaowei of Peretorugbene Federated Communities among others.

But Sentamu said: “Change must happen even though the laws have not been effective and the issue of compensation have not been addressed. In some communities we visited, it looked like a bomb had been dropped but it was oil spillage.

“The rest of the international community cannot just turn a blind eye. The pollution that has gone on in this particular state has affected the global village,” he said.

He however urged the community leaders to be resilient in the midst of their challenges, adding that the commission under his leadership would make the right recommendations to the Bayelsa State government.