•Nigerian Senate
The Senate today, called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), to immediately investigate the cause of the fire outbreak and oil spill from Manifold Well 8/ BUG 008 in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 18, Bukuma (Agum) in Rivers State.
It tasked the agency to submit a detailed report to the Senate within four weeks, reports The Nation.
It equally urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL to take immediate and decisive action in response to the fire outbreak in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility and commitment to environmental safety, by deploying emergency response teams to assess the impact of the disaster and provide necessary remediation measures to support the affected communities.
These resolutions of the red chamber followed its consideration and adoption of a motion on the urgent need to mitigate the effects of the incident.
The sponsor of the motion, Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo (PDP, Rivers West) in her lead debate, expressed deep concern over the environmental destruction, displacement of residents, and health hazards caused by the spill and fire.
She warned of the long-term consequences, including contaminated water sources, destruction of farmlands, and harm to aquatic life, which serve as the primary livelihood for communities in Buguma ASALGA, Ifoko ASALGA, and Bukuma (Agum) in Degema.
Harry-Banigo said, “The pollutants released pose significant health risks, including respiratory and waterborne diseases, and long-term effects such as cancer and organ damage, thereby escalating the public health crisis in the region.
“The delayed response of responsible oil companies and regulatory bodies, which exacerbates the suffering of affected communities and undermines public trust in the enforcement of environmental laws.”
In his contribution, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP, Kebbi North) who is a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, attributed the recurrent environmental disasters in the Niger Delta to poorly planned oil exploration infrastructure.
He argued that, while sabotage remains a factor, the lack of proper environmental surveys during the initial development of oil fields had led to chaotic and hazardous conditions.
He said: “In fact, in the beginning, Shell and other corporations were disallowed to lay pipes to their economic convenience without regard for any environmental survey to make sure that certain areas and specified designated areas where pipelines and flow stations should be located.
“There was a hodgepodge of oil wells, spill areas, oil pipelines, everywhere so anything could happen.
“Now, the issue before us, is that this country has to come to terms with the reality of the destruction that is coming in the way of offshore Nigerian oil drilling and oil transportation, and in that way, there must be a proper survey to make sure that we have a complete reorientation and reconstruction of oil development infrastructure in this country.”
The former senate leader urged the government to recognize the severe environmental cost borne by Niger Delta communities, adding that outdated pipelines must be removed and replaced.
“The people of Niger Delta have paid the price of the Nigerian oil industry with their lives and their health. It is not too late now. The government has to come to do something about the health of those communities and the possibility of fire coming out everywhere. Those old pipelines must be removed,” he said.
On her part, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) called for the establishment of fire stations across all districts to enable faster responses to such disasters.
Following the debate, the Senate resolved to urge the Ecological Project Management Committee (EMC) to deploy the intervention fund to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to alleviate the multifarious ecological challenges within the affected areas, including the loss of livelihoods, health issues, and social and environmental damages caused by this spillage.
It also mandated its committees on Environment, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), and any other relevant Committee to assess the compliance of the operators of Manifold Well 8/ BUG 008 in OML 18 Bukuma (Agum) Rivers State, with the provisions of the EIA Act and other relevant laws, to recommend appropriate actions, including shutting down the affected well, commence immediate clean up and full environmental remediation of the affected areas.
It further urged the federal government to declare a national emergency programme for the rebuilding, rehabilitation, and recalibration of the national oil, onshore oil wells, flow stations, and pipeline infrastructure in Nigeria, to renew the infrastructure of Nigeria’s oil industry.
