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By Omoniyi Salaudeen
The Ijaw Elders’ Forum (IEF) has expressed concern over the insensitivity of the Federal Government to the plight of the communities affected by the recent spill at Santa Barbara 1 well in Nembe, Bayelsa State.
The forum noted with dismay the failure of the Federal Government to pay compensation to the affected communities or address the environmental damages arising from the spillage months after the unfortunate incident.
A letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari signed by the Secretary of the IEF, Pastor Efiye Bribena, and Moderator, Ijaw Nation Forum, Mr. Ben Amaebi Okoro, reads in part, “We the undersigned on behalf of ourselves and the stakeholders wish to remind your excellence that it is over three months now since the well was capped. We have not heard or seen any tangible effort from the Federal Government on the restoration of the environment and on payment of compensation to the impacted communities. What is Federal Government doing to assure the impacted communities that they are not left to their fate?”
The Forum, therefore, called on the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to take the necessary actions to decisively address the issues of concern. “As Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and an Ijaw man whose communities are devastated by these repeated spill disasters from grossly unprofessional operations, it is your responsibility to take the necessary actions to decisively address these catastrophes,” it stated.
While commending the Beyalsa State government for setting up the technical committee on the post-spill incident investigation, the group reminded Governor Douye Diri of the need to update the people on what was being done to assure the affected communities that they were not left to their fate.
The Forum further charged the leadership of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) to rise to the occasion by lending its voice to the people’s legitimate demand for the payment of compensation to the concerned communities as well as restoration of their environment.
