Environmentalists and members of the Bayelsa community express their regret over recent oil leaks at the SPDC facility

Environmentalists and individuals who are indigenous to the Peremabiri village in the Southern Ijaw Local Government region of Bayelsa State have voiced their concern about the effect that recent oil spills caused by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, have had on the people who live in the region and their ability to make a living.

According to information acquired by furucinovel, a leak that occurred at the Diebu Creek Flow station run by SPDC in Peremabiri discharged an unknown volume of crude oil to neighboring sections of the community as well as the Nun River.

Mrs. Yenimi Timipre, one of the impacted farmers, lamented the fact that her fishing gear had become ruined by the crude oil spill and was now worthless.

Additionally, Mrs. Favour Morgan, the Deputy Woman Leader of the Peremabiri Community, expressed her regret that the spill has resulted in the destruction of fishing nets, traps, and crops in addition to polluting the entire aquatic environment.

The residents of Peremabiri have been plunged into a state of hopelessness as a result of the oil disaster. Our means of subsistence, farming and fishing, have been harmed as a direct result of the toxic oil that was released from Shell’s oil field.

According to Morgan, “We are helpless and in dire need of intervention in the form of relief and succor to farmers and fishermen.”

People in the neighborhood have also made a plea to higher levels of government, asking them to put pressure on SPDC to clean up the oil leak site as soon as possible.

As a response, Mr. Alagoa Morris, Programme Manager for Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), stated that the oil leak had contaminated the natural environment.

According to him, the pollution that was caused by the oil leak has had a negative impact on the communities along the banks of the River Nun, which are primarily agricultural and fishing communities.

The calm demeanor with which the victims approached the situation was praised by Morris, who is also the Technical Adviser to the Governor of Bayelsa on Environment.

He pleaded with the regulatory agencies to make sure that SPDC swiftly begins the necessary clean-up process in order to save the people who live in the Peremabiri Community from facing economic and health issues.

In their response, SPDC stated that an oil spill occurred on October 3 from the facilities located at the Peremabiri hamlet located in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

On Friday, Mr. Michael Adande, a Spokesperson for SPDC, stated that a Joint Investigative Visit, or JIV, to the incident site was ongoing in order to determine the origin of the oil discharge and the volume of oil that was released.

Adande stated that “A government-led Joint Investigation Team, including operator and community representatives, is currently on a Joint Investigation Visit to the site of the incident to determine the cause and the impact of the incident,” and the visit is taking place right now.

“JIV is a statutory probe comprising representatives of the operator, host community, and regulatory agencies that generates a report to show the cause, extent of pollution after every spill is reported”