From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A fishing settlement in Foropa along the Atlantic coastline in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area has alerted the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) over a strange oil spill in the area.
Investigations revealed that five oil companies presently operate in the area but the exact point at which the spill occurred and polluted the environment is yet to be ascertained.
The traditional ruler of Foropa, Pastor Olabai Olozulu in a notification letter addressed to NOSDRA office, Yenagoa stated that the spill was discovered on January 8th.
Olozulu on behalf of the community appealed to NOSDRA and relevant government agencies both at the state and federal level to intervene and ensure efforts are set in motion to mitigate the negative impact of the spill on the fishing community.
The monarch equally urged the oil companies operating in the area namely First E & P, Conoil Exploration, NEPL, Shell and Nigdel United Oil Company to assist the people with relief materials.
The Head of NOSDRA office in Bayelsa, Mr Chukwuemeka Iheanacho who confirmed that the agency was in receipt of the report and was planning a joint visit to the impacted site with all the oil companies operating in the area, assured that a ‘’fingerprinting’’ analysis of the crude samples from the site would reveal the operator whose facility discharged the crude into the environment.
“We are planning a Joint Investigation visit by next Tuesday. I am writing to all the operators within the area to send their representatives because samples will be collected for fingerprinting,” Iheanacho said.
Also speaking Mr Darius Sese, Chairman of Community Development Committee (CDC) in Foropa in an interview noted that the incident has adversely impacted fishing in the area.
According to him, fishermen are finding it difficult to operate because the spill has forced fishes to migrate deeper into the Atlantic waters away from the coastline.