Residents desert Rivers community over gas leakage
Concern has been expressed by the residents of Sangama Community in Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State, regarding gas leakage from a facility that was formerly owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
However, it was learned that the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC) had received ownership of the facility.
Iyalla John-Jumbo, a community youth leader, stated in an interview with a local newspaper on Thursday that the facility owners have not yet addressed the gas leak that happened on September 3, 2022, on Saturday.
According to John-Jumbo, he called Shell as soon as he heard about the incident, but as of the time of this interview, no action has been taken.
But according Kristina Reports, a Bonny based online news outlet, when SPDC was contacted an official of the company who responded, said he was not authorized to speak on the issue. He, however said the facility has been divested to the NPDC, advising that the enquiry should be redirected to the NPDC.
A staff of the NPDC, who preferred to be anonymous said an intervention team had been mobilized to the site to assess the situation and make necessary interventions.
The Sangama Youth Leader regretted that the community has been deserted due to fears that a repeat of the 2020 gas leak debacle in Bonny which resulted in loss of taste and loss of smell may reoccur in the area.
He disclosed that three persons were hospitalized, while several others suffered varied symptoms of inexplicable ailments the last time such incident happened, thus when it occurred this time around several persons left the community in haste.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Nyesom Wike, Chairman of Bonny LGA, Dame Anengi Wilcox, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari and other stakeholders to compel the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to quickly shut down the facility in order to mitigate any further impact on the area.
He equally called on the relevant authorities to demand that NPDC engage the community in the remediation efforts, pointing out that since the facility started operation in the area there has been no form of intervention or goodwill from Shell and now NPDC.
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