The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has passed resolutions condemning the oil spill at Santa Babara well 1, OML 29 operated by AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited in Opu Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The Red Chamber urged the company to urgently seek, explore and deploy relevant highest level of expertise and technology to stop the spill and prevent the continuous damage to the environment as well as restore the life support system of the people.
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The resolution was reached when Senator Biobarakuma Degi Eremienyo drew the attention of the Senate by a motion on the oil spill as a matter of urgent public importance.
The Senate also urged the relevant agencies to undertake environmental impact assessment to determine the extent of the pollution with a view to undertake remediation in accordance with internationally accepted standards.
A statement on Wednesday in Abuja by Senator Eremienyo’s Special Assistant (Media), Ebinim Omubo, said that the Senate also resolved that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) should as a matter of urgency provide relief materials as this ugly incident has taken a negative toll on the health and well being of the people of the host communities which can be declared a disaster area.
During the presentation of his motion, Senator Degi Eremienyo noted that the policy on
divestments by IOCs in exploration and production of oil and gas is a welcome development as it creates space for indigenous companies to invest and grow in the industry.
He said that such opportunities should be accorded to indigenous companies with proven requisite technical and financial competence.
He further noted that after several failed attempts to stop the continuous oil and gas spill by AITEO the operators of the field, shows a disappointing appearance of technical incompetence in the handling of the incident.
The Senator said that the degree of incompetence is sufficient to attract sanctions such as revocation of AITEO’s operational license by the regulatory authorities to instil sanity in the oil and gas sector in response to the increased global call for protection of the environment.
