Home Environment Ogoniland welcomes environmental university with oil spill, amidst concerns over pollution
Environment - 2 weeks ago

Ogoniland welcomes environmental university with oil spill, amidst concerns over pollution

 

 

Stanley Ihedigbo

 

A crude oil spill has been reported in Ogale, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, on the same day President Bola Ahmed Tinubu established the Federal University of Environmental Technology, Ogoni.

According to the Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre’s (YEAC-Nigeria), Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the spill occurred at the Ogale Manifold, allegedly due to equipment failure during maintenance work by contractors.

Members of the YEAC-Nigeria reported the incident, expressing concerns over the associated violence and application of force by the Eleme Youth President, Mr. Walter Olaka.

The group called for a police investigation and urged the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) on the spill site.

The incident highlights the environmental challenges facing Ogoniland, despite the establishment of the Federal University of Environmental Technology.

Executive Director, emphasized the need for adequate compensation to those affected by the spill and for measures to prevent future incidents.

The oil spill is a recurring problem in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, with severe environmental and health impacts on local communities.

The incident underscores the importance of addressing environmental concerns and promoting sustainable practices in the region.

The volunteers also reported to YEAC-Nigeria that the manifold spill, after it filled the underground pits, started flowing freely to the pipeline right of way that separated Lot-1 of the Ogoni Cleanup Project of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) of the Federal Ministry of Environment in Ogale.

The volunteers said they suspected that the spill at the manifold owned and operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria, a company that the community has been in a United Kingdom High Court with to date over a previous oil spill is caused by equipment (valve) failure while contractors were carrying out maintenance work on the facility today.

The volunteers reported and decried the associated violence and application of force by the Eleme Youth President, Mr. Walter Olaka during his invading the spill site with alleged armed boys, confiscating trucks that were being used to evacuate the spilled crude oil, beating up some of the drivers whose trucks were already seized and parked at the Eleme Council Secretariat and injuring some persons in the process including Mr. Gift Gongogo Nene who was allegedly daggered on the head by some of the boys reported to have invaded the scene with dangerous small arms and light weapons including guns.

 

 

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