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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Some communities in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State may soon have cause to cheer, following a fact-finding visit by the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities to ascertain the extent of damage caused by oil spills on their waters and farmlands.
Chairman of the House Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor, who led members of the committee, representatives of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), as well as stakeholders and traditional rulers from the affected communities, visited the hydrocarbon-impacted shorelines of the affected communities in response to petition written by the communities in June 2021, to the National Assembly.
Some of the impacted sites visited include Kpogbaa in Bomu, Bon Mbabari Asakpugi, Bon Tamana, Bon Tigara, Bon Kolore, Bon Legbaa, Bon Dukori and Naadube, all in Kpor community of Gokana LGA.
Dekor, chairman, House Committee on Host Community, while briefing journalists after the visit, said the committee was in the area based on a petition to the National Assembly in June 2021.
He stated that the team traversed the communities and their waters and had eye contact as well as the claims from the two communities, which had to do with the purported spills coming from Shell since 2008.
He said: “We just came to verify and try to see if there is any linkage in their claims. That’s why members of this committee are here. Those from the committee and those from Shell are all here, so that they will all have direct contact with what the claims are. We have come and we have seen.”
He added that the committee would send its report to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Dekor said the communities and SPDC have seen things for themselves, promising that the outcome would be appreciated by all parties.
He said: “We want to also thank members of the communities for not taking the law into their hands. We also want to thank the SPDC for cooperating to the extent that they have come here today. I think, so far, all is well and good.”
He appealed to the people of the Niger Delta region to support Governor Nyesom Wike and bring to an end the issue of artisanal refineries. He decried the frightening level of pollution and its health hazards arising from the practice.
The chairman of Gokana LGA, Confidence Deko, in his speech, called for thorough remediation and adequate compensation.
The SPDC was represented by Sir Igo Nwele on the fact-finding mission.
In their separate interviews, the paramount ruler of Kpor community, Mene Avalobari, and the spokesman for Bomu community, Dominic Saata, demanded a holistic clean-up, remediation to restore the environment and compensation.
