Oil spill: Oil company, government yet to respond

Ini Billie, Uyo

Communities in Akwa Ibom State affected by the recent oil spill have cried out against government neglect and abandonment over the incident.

They lamented that one month after the spill, the government have failed to clean up the environment, allowing the water waves to wash the oil onto the land, causing further damage to the environment.

On August 16, 2024, an oil spill suspected to be from Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited Offshore facility occurred that affected more than 27 coastal communities across Ibeno, Esit Eket and Onna local government areas in Akwa Ibom State.

Despite denial by ExxonMobil that the spill happened from their facility and an assessment visit to the affected areas by the Director General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Mr Chukwuemeka Woke, noted that the affected communities said nobody has been done about the spill.

Speaking at the weekend during an interview with our correspondent in Mkpanak, Ibeno LGA, Village Head of Mkpanak, Obong Dennis Essenem, and host community to ExxonMobil lamented that both the federal and state governments and the relevant agencies involved have failed to address the problem.

Essenem, who said the community needs compensation over the spill, decried the lackadaisical attitude of the federal and state governments to their plight.

“The federal government should come and see how they are to compensate us with a lot of things.

“NOSDRA came and took samples of the oil, but up till now, no official clean up; not even the result of the sample that they took,” he stated.

Describing the impact of the spill, Essenem said, “When there is oil spill it will enter into the farm yards, into the creeks, spoil our environment, our crops, and aquatic animals.

“In this environment because of pollution, we can’t drink water. We can’t dig borehole because the water table is low, you need a professional drilling ship or truck. How many are ready to invest N30 or N20 million to drill a borehole?” the village head stated.