Eleme Oil Spill: Community laments as residential areas, farmlands, rivers polluted

The people of Eleme in Rivers State, the site of the latest oil spill in Rivers State have vowed not to allow the Shell Petroleum Development Commission SPDC, the National Oil Spill Detection and Respond Agency and other industry stakeholders access to the spill site for inspection of the spill in the community.

Their decision stems from anger at what they called the haste at which the SPDC concluded that sabotage was the cause of the recent spill which has seen thousands of barrels of crude oil spilled into the community affecting rivers, farms and residential areas.

A massive oil spill from the Shell facility, four days ago hit parts of Ogoni affecting Ogale, Aleto, Agbonchia, Onne, Okpaku, Alesa communities all in Eleme local government area of Ogoni in Rivers State.

The spill is reported to be still spreading and has affected residential areas, farmlands and the surrounding rivers and is spreading further.

This is as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People Mosop has alleged that the spill was “another testament of Shell’s lies” saying that it has revealed that Shell had secretly been operating its facilities in Ogoni.

Speaking to journalists at the site of the spill, the Traditional Ruler of Eleme Kingdom, Philip Obele rejected what he described as claims by SPDC that the spill was a result of sabotage.

He said that the community was not satisfied with the attitude of Shell, NOSDRA and others on the spill which left Okulu River covered with crude oil saying that the community would not allow them access to the spill site until they show seriousness.

He argued that Shell and various government agencies would have carried out a joint inspection of the site before drawing a conclusion on the matter.

Also speaking, the member representing Eleme Constituency at the Rivers State House of Assembly, Aforji Igwe pleaded with the people to remain calm assuring that the community leaders would get to the root cause of the spill.

The lawmaker assured the people that they would get all that was due to the community by way of compensation.
Mosop in a release signed by its Secretary, Alex Akori lamented that the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, owners of the pipelines was yet to stop the spill which would likely affect more communities beyond Ogoni.

The release quoted the President of Mosop, Fegalo Nsuke, as saying; “If Shell claims that it is not operating the oilfields secretly in Ogoni, then how come we have such massive oil spills that affect several communities and have contaminated massive lands and waters in the area?
The Mosop leader said the spills are another testament to Shell’s sub-standards in operations management in Ogoni, stating that Shell should have decommissioned its facilities in Ogoni going by the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme on Ogoni which Shell and the government claimed to have been implementing since 2016.

The Mosop President regretted that there had been much insincerity on the part of Shell in the handling of and decommissioning of its facilities in Ogoni and called on the Nigerian authorities to introduce more severe penalties for oil spill cases and environmental pollution.

Nsuke said; “Environment pollution has been encouraged in Nigeria because there are little or no consequences for the polluters. This is something the government should strongly consider in the light of present realities where people’s lives are altered by constant pollution and no one is held to account”.

In its reaction while confirming the spill the Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC said that it has activated its Emergency Response and Spill Response teams on the spill.

In response to an enquiry by our Correspondent in Port Harcourt, Michael Adande, SPDC Spokesperson in Port Harcourt said; “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, operator of the NNPC/SPDC/TotalEnergies/NAOC Joint Venture can confirm a spill incident at a facility of the joint venture in Eleme, Rivers State, reported on June 11, 2023”.
“We are working closely with a multi-stakeholder Joint Investigation Visit team led by the regulators, Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), in collaboration with Rivers State Ministry of Environment and community representatives, as the investigation into the cause and impact of the incident progresses.
“Meanwhile, the SPDC Emergency Response and Spill Response teams have been activated, subject to safety requirements, to mobilise to the site to take actions that may be necessary for the safety of the environment, people and equipment.
“We will continue to provide updates as new information emerges, and we appreciate the understanding and support of the community at this time”.