The people of Polaku community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State say flaring from the gas gathering plant belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is afflicting them with strange sickness.
A leader in the community, Agge Werinipre, told newsmen yesterday that the flaring was affecting their children’s health.
He said: “Even the rain water, we cannot drink it anymore. So, we are begging the world, we are begging the Federal Government to come to our aid, our houses are cracking because of the shaking, we cannot sleep at night.”
“All our windows are shaking, our roofs are shaking. Let the world hear this, our people are suffering; Shell is suffering the Gbarain people, our leaders are not doing anything; we are suffering. So, we are begging those in authority; we are dying here.”
A retired headmaster in the community, Puragha Bob Kpokoitei, said: “Shell started this gas flaring here in 2010; about eight years ago, it hasn’t been easy tolerating the adverse effects, this gas flaring has damaged so much that we cannot bear it. We cannot sleep at night in our homes because of vibrations caused by the gas flaring.”
A member of Polaku community, Jephthah Idubamo, however, said they would not resort to violence over the issue, saying “Shell should stop flaring that gas. Stop it. If they cannot stop it, let them relocate the community.”
The acting paramount ruler of the community, Chief Club Tari, demanded compensation or relocation of the community. He said: “We are not happy about the gas flaring. So, what we want is that we should be compensated, whether it is annually; let them pay us hazard allowance If not, let them stop the gas flaring because we are not comfortable with it.”
SPDC Media Relations Manager Bamidele Odugbesan said that the facility operated within safe limits.
He said: “SPDC has also continued to make progress in close collaboration with its joint venture partners and the Federal Government of Nigeria towards the objective of ending the continuous flaring of associated gas, in fact, since 2000, all new SPDC JV facilities have been designed to eliminate continuous flaring of associated gas.”
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