The House of Representatives Committee on South-South Development Commission has demanded urgent action to end the prolonged gas seepage in Bille, Rivers State, and the oil spill in Odidi, Delta State….
The House of Representatives Committee on South-South Development Commission has demanded urgent action to end the prolonged gas seepage in Bille, Rivers State, and the oil spill in Odidi, Delta State.
The committee chairman, Julius Gbabojor Pondi, made the demand during a stakeholders’ engagement on the Bille gas seepage and a legislative hearing on the Odidi oil spill in Abuja.
Pondi said the incidents had exposed residents of the two Niger Delta communities to prolonged environmental and economic hazards.
He said the committee was particularly concerned that the Bille gas seepage had continued for almost nine months without a clear resolution.
“The implications are serious. Beyond the potential risks to health, safety and the environment, the incident has imposed severe economic hardship on the people of Bille,” Pondi said.
He noted that Bille, a predominantly fishing community, had suffered disruptions to livelihoods, food security, household income and education.
“It is unacceptable for an incident of this magnitude to persist for so long without a clear, time-bound and effective resolution strategy,” he said.
Pondi said the committee expected the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and other relevant agencies to provide detailed briefings on the cause, extent and current status of the gas seepage.
He added that representatives of Bille would be given an opportunity to outline their challenges and the relief and interventions required.
On the Odidi oil spill, the committee chairman said the legislative hearing would investigate the incident, which had reportedly persisted for more than five months.
He said the inquiry would establish when the spill occurred and was reported, its cause, containment measures, the extent of environmental damage, the status of remediation and why the incident had continued for so long.
Meanwhile, NOSDRA confirmed the presence of multiple gases, including hydrogen sulphide, methane, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide, in Bille.
A director of the agency, Yusuf Rigasa, said investigations established “multi-point subsurface gas bubbling” at several locations, including the premises of Government Primary and Secondary Schools.
Rigasa said one of the schools had been abandoned, while gas bubbling was also detected around waterways and parts of the mangrove areas.
Pondi said the committee would continue to engage affected communities, operating companies and regulatory agencies to ensure concrete measures are taken to address the environmental crises.
