Spills: Legislator urges communities to guard oil infrastructures

The member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon Rodney Ambaiowei has appealed to host communities to protect oil and gas infrastructures in their areas.

Ambaiowei made the appeal on Monday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital while handing over relief materials to four communities impacted by an oil leak Tebidaba/Ogoinbiri pipeline.

The communities are Olugboboro,Olugbobiri, Tebitaba and Okonriama hosts to oil facilities recently acquired by Oando from Nigerian Agp Oil Company.

The relief materials were provided by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMÀ)

Ambaiowei who facilitated the intervention said the need for host communities to protect oil facilities stems from the fact that oil is the mainstay of the economy.

“I want to advise my constituent, please endeavour as much as you can to protect the pipelines, because the more we protect the pipelines for spillage not to occur, the more money will come to the coffers of the federal and state government,” Ambaiowei said.

He also urged community leaders to enlighten their people not to destroy pipelines in their domains.

The lawmaker stated that the palliatives being distributed would ameliorate the suffering of the communities whose environments have been polluted and whose livelihoods of fishing and farming are adversely impacted.

“For people whose means of livelihood have been denied, these relief materials would be useful to provide support to them,” Ambaiowei said.

He also tasked community leaders to share the palliatives equitably to all households in the affected communities.

The Legislator used the opportunity to commend the Director General of NEMA and the management of the agency for their prompt response to the plight of the communities.

Speaking earlier, the Zonal Coordinator NEMA, South-South, Port-Harcourt, Mr. Adebiyi Razaq said that when NEMA received the report of the spillage, the agency went into action immediately, visited the site of the spill and saw the devastation.

He noted that since the people’s livelihoods had been adversely affected, there was a need for intervention to offer succour to them.

Razaq also appealed to the communities to be on the alert and inform appropriate authorities swiftly whenever there is a crisis.

Also speaking, the Director of Information and ICT in the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the representative of Southern Ijaw LGA in the board of SEMA, Dr Simeon Ayogo lamented that the entire livelihood of the four communities was gravely impacted by the spill.

Ayogo promised that the agency would ensure that the relief materials are delivered to the beneficiaries.

A community leader and the Technical Adviser to the Bayelsa Governor on federal projects and programmes coordination  Mr. Basil Kenbo who spoke on behalf of the four communities said since Agip began to explore crude oil in the area over  50 years ago, this is the first time relief materials have been given to the communities as a result of oil spillage.

Kenbo assured that every household would benefit from the largesse irrespective of political affiliation.

He said the communities are happy and would remain ever grateful to  Ambaiowei for facilitating the process that led to the gesture and also thanked, SEMA and NEMA for hearing the cries of the communities.

Items provided for the four affected communities include a truckload of food items comprising garri, rice, spaghetti, vegetable oil, tomato paste, iodised salt, seasoning cubes, and beverages.

Other items in the truck include plastic buckets, blankets, mosquito nets, toilet soap, and detergent.