The Senate has urged the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigeria Air Force to take over and convert the deserted and uncultivable wasteland of the abandoned Shell Airstrip at Oloibiri oil well one to a modern Air Force Base in Bayelsa.
The Senate also resolved that oil companies in Nigeria should contribute funds towards the upgrade of the abandoned airstrip.
The resolution was sequel to a motion brought to the floor by Senator representing Bayelsa East, Senator Benson Agadaga.
The Senate recalled that the Shell Airstrip, constructed in 1958 following the first discovery of crude oil in 1956 and sitting on over 25 hectares of land situated at Itokopiri bush which is hosting the famous Oloibiri Oil well 1 in Otuogidi Community, has long been abandoned.
The Senate also noted that the Airstrip, while in effective operation, was a very valuable asset in the company’s oil exploration and exploitation activities in airlifting of personnel and equipment for that period.
The lawmakers observed that during the years of its functionality, heavy-duty equipment, Company Workers, Captains of Industry, top Government functionaries, and Diplomats resorted to this route for easy access to the Niger Delta region.
The Senate regretted that since the gradual decline of Shell’s operations in the area and final departure from Oloibiri oil field, the Airstrip and the land where it operated have been abandoned and left desolate.
“The land itself appears to have been sentenced to perpetual condemnation as no agricultural activity which is the economic mainstay of the local dwellers can be carried out anymore due to the concretized topography of the soil;
“Worried that this experience poses environmental challenges and serious ecological complications to the Host Community as Shell has left the people in deprivation, squalor and lamentation after decades of operation.”
The Senate while passing its resolution expressed the hope that “upgrading the abandoned Airstrip to an Air Force Base will bring renewed hope to the people, restore life to the area and attract the following benefits to the country:
“Strengthen the security architecture of Nigeria as the creeks of Bayelsa up to Brass Island and the coast of
the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea where the oil export terminal is located will be easily monitored
and protected.”
They equally noted that it would reduce the rate of oil theft and pipeline vandalism as it will enhance surveillance activities in the
numerous oil-producing and impacted communities of the area which constitute the hub of oil industry activities in Nigeria and attract more business opportunities in the area, thereby creating additional jobs to boost the economic growth of our nation and ease the cost of living of the people.”
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