NOSDRA gets facilities to detect oil spill

The facilities were installed at the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in Abuja.
At the commissioning/handing over of the GIS lab and equipment at Abuja, the Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam, said the project was one of the many interventions by the National Committee on Ecological Problems (NCEP) to reposition critical agencies for effective service delivery.
She said the GIS centres would assist the agency to locate and respond to cases of oil spill quickly in any part of the country, adding  that the GIS has been installed in six locations of  Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Uyo and Kaduna to assist in detecting oil spill.
“It is hoped that NOSDRA would deploy the procured equipment into effective usage by ensuring the early detection of any act of spillage in any part of the country. It is our hope, therefore, that this project would enhance the capabilities of NOSDRA to fulfill its core mandate, “she said.
While urging stakeholders to support the efforts to combat cases of oil spillage, she said: “Nigeria is blessed with enormous crude oil and gas resources. It is a national treasury that we should harness and exploit for the common good. I therefore call on well meaning Nigerians, oil and gas industry regulators and operators to join hands with government toward eradicating the ugly trend of oil spillage and its harmful effect on the environment.”
The Director-General of NOSDRA, Peter Idabor, said the project enhanced the agency’s efficiency at managing oil spill in the country
He noted that the equipment will play a role in ensuring timely and appropriate response to oil spill, saying that Nigeria has the capacity to handle other coastline countries.
“The agency in its effort to play the lead role in ensuring timely, effective and appropriate response to all oil spills as well as ensuring clean-up and remediation of all oil impacted sites to the best practical extent, has recognised the great role these projects can play towards achieving its mandate,” he said.