Reps move to curb dangers of oil spill

The House of Representatives Wednesday directed the House joint Committees on Environment and Information National Orientation, Ethics and Values to summon a stakeholders’ meeting on the most effective way to curb the escalating negative impact of crude oil spills in Nigeria

The resolution of the stakeholders meeting is expected to get back the House within eight weeks for further legislative action.

This decision was taken following a motion on: Curbing the Negative Impact of Crude Oil Spill in Nigeria, sponsored by Johnson Oghuma.

While moving the motion, Hon Oghuma said “the House notes with utmost dismay the rising cases of crude oil spillage in the creeks of the Niger Delta and along the pipelines in Nigeria.

“The House is aware that oil spills occur naturally through mechanical failure, operational errors, natural disaster, corrosion of pipeline resulting in seepages, especially in the ocean, as tectonic plates shift, or as a result of oil releases from pipelines deep beneath the ocean floor.

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“Also aware that oil spills occur through the acts of third parties whose acts of sabotage may include illegal oil bunkering and oil siphoning (thieving) and these account for more than 60 per cent of the total spills annually.

“Observes that as a result of the spills, lives of animals are endangered as they suffer hypothermia, damaged liver or lungs, blindness, the inability of birds to fly as a result of heaviness from being covered in an oil slick.

“Also observes that properties have been destroyed and soils around areas of spills degraded, causing serious environmental degradation with contamination of the quality of freshwater sources, loss of farmlands and aquatic businesses.

“Concerned that recently, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) reported that the environment has suffered serious degradation as a result of the over 22 million barrels crude which were lost to theft between January to June 2019”.

The motion was unanimously adopted when put to a voice vote by Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the plenary.