Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has visited the site of the ongoing oil leak in Nembe, 25 days after the incident was reported on Nov 5, describing it as the worst he had seen in his lifetime.
An oilfield operated by Aiteo Exploration and Production Company Limited has been spilling crude unabated into the Santa Barbara River and Nembe creeks since Nov 5.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Diri’s visit is coming after President Muhammad Buhari dispatched the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, to show empathy to residents impacted by the spill.
Sylva expressed satisfaction with the response plan to the leak incident, which involved intensified recovery of spilled crude, deployment of booms to keep the spill from spreading further.
Diri claimed that an estimated two million barrels of crude have reportedly been spilled into the river, polluting the flora and fauna of the area.
However, sources close to the oilfield said that so far, five barges of 1,000 barrels capacity consisting of a mixture of crude and water have been evacuated since the oil recovery commenced three weeks ago.
Diri said the continuous spillage has further endangered the lives of the people of Nembe, Bayelsa and indeed the Niger Delta. He called on the federal government and operators of the oil field to immediately take action to stop it.
According to him, the prolonged oil spill into the water and air had an immediate and long-term effect on the health of the inhabitants.
While assuring the people that appropriate measures would be taken to seek redress, he noted that the quest by oil firms to make money would not be at the expense of the lives of the people.
The management of Aiteo had visited the impacted community and donated four truckloads of food items, medical supplies and a cash gift of N5 million and pledged to stop the leak in the shortest possible time. (NAN)
