Nembe oil spillage: Niger Delta Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria applauds Buhari for prompt response
… As Aiteo assures containment, pledges additional relief to affected residents
By Uthman Salami
The Coordinator, Niger Delta Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samuel Ayadi has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his concern and response to ongoing oil leak at Nembe in Bayelsa.
The President’s prompt dispatch of Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum to the spill site had sent signal of hope to the fishermen.
He noted that the fishermen vocation had been threatened by the spill.
The oil spill was reported from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production on Nov. 5.
It has been spewing crude oil into the Santa Barbra River and Nembe creeks till date.
Ayadi noted said that the empathy shown by the visit speaks volumes.
He said that Sylva’s visit on the directive of the President was an encouragement to impacted residents, who were predominantly fishermen.
The Coordinator also noted that the visit must have sent signals to the oil firm which operates the field that it would not be business as usual.
He said that this had resulted in renewed approach by the firm to recover the crude and restrain it from spreading.
“Hitherto what the oil firms do is to use chemical dispersants which in itself is toxic to marine life to mop up the oil and further degrade the environment, but the current approach of intensive recovery of spilled oil is very acceptable and better.
“From what we have seen by observing the response by Aiteo which we understand is a Nigerian company which acquired the asset following Shell’s divestment in 2015, it means that we have the capabilities to do things well.
“Even though this was an emergency, in very little time many oil companies came together to help out and the oil firm has retained the services of Boots and Coot, a Halliburton company to assist in stopping the well leakage.
“This type of coordinated efforts by a Nigerian oil company is very patriotic and should be emulated by even the international oil companies operating in Nigeria.
“We have not witnessed this magnitude of response even in worse incidents in the past,” Ayadi said.
Also Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Ltd., has said it is intensifying efforts to stop the ongoing leak from its operations at Nembe in Bayelsa, which happened Nov. 5.
The assurance is contained in an updated statement signed by Mr Victor Okoronkwo, Group Managing Director of the indigenous firm, and made available to journalists on Friday in Yenagoa.
This assurance is sequel to Wednesday’s visit by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, to the incident site to convey the concerns of the Federal Government on the pollution.
Aiteo said that foreign technical well control experts are already on the incident site while specialised equipment to plug the leaking well were arriving the spill site within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29.
“All relevant personnel and experts, local and international, are now on location.
“The marine spread carrying the pumps, chemicals, cranes, and firefighting equipment are 100% mobilised and have set sail to location.
“Two units of 1,000 Metric Tones capacity Ramp barge (vessel), containing simulation equipment for the well kill also sailed today.
“Simultaneously, concurrent activities, including spotting and hook up of hoses, are ongoing on the barges to minimise clean up downtime.
“Loading of additional equipment being mobilised from Snake Island underway and it is expected to arrive staging area in Santa Barbra by 12:00hrs on 26 November, 2021,” Aiteo stated.
According to the statement, additional relief materials, including mosquito nets, hygiene and sanitary kits, disinfectants and food stuffs are being mobilised to the immediate communities affected by the spill.
It said that Aiteo officials are closely monitoring all activities related to the affected communities, including feeding, lighting, hygiene, drinking water and medical requirements with the help of local associations.
The statement added that Aiteo Health Safety and Environment teams are monitoring the quality of air every six hours to ascertain the livability of the areas adjoining the incident site.
Meanwhile, residents at Odioma in neighbouring Brass Local Government Area in Bayelsa, reported that crude from the site had hit the Atlantic coastline.
Mr Iniruo Wills, a former Commissioner for Environment in Bayelsa, said the spilled crude has spread from the Santa Barbra River, Nembe creeks, into the Atlantic ocean forming sludge at the coastline.
“The Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, led by Archbishop John Sentamu, has a moral and public obligation to the people of Bayelsa state.
“It is not a choice anymore, not only speak up but to act now on this totally avoidable catastrophe and the present status of the assignment, it started in earnest almost three years ago,” Wills said.
The Bayelsa government on Wednesday set up a seven-man committee to visit the spill site for an on the spot assessment of the impact of the spill on victims.
However, the Spokesman for Aiteo, Mr Mathew Ndianabasi said that the claimed sludge was not from its operations.
“The Santa Barbra field is not in the Atlantic ocean, the location is onshore and there have been so many spills from other sources, those sludges have been there before the current incident,” Ndianabasi said.
