Oil Spillage: Disease outbreak, famine loom in Uzere Community

—– Sends SOS to Oborevwori

By Kelvin Ohoror

Anxiety is mounting in agrarian and oil rich Uzere Kingdom over the possible outbreak of diseases and poor agricultural yields, following the alleged
refusal of Heritage Energy Oil Service Limited (HEOSL) to do remediation work and clean up of the oil spillage that occurred late last year in Etokpa farmland of Uwheye community.

Speaking to newsmen on the development, President General of Uzere Community Mr. Sunny Eke said the “The oil spillage is a very serious issue, I have been accused by some quarters that I am conniving with the company for them not to do the clean up of the spillage.

“The truth is that, there was an oil spillage, it happened sometime last year, within the month of September and October, 2023.

“During the flood season there was an outbreak of diseases which the community struggle to curtailed but now the flood has rescinded the next flood season the spill will occur again, there is no clean up, no remediation, when the flood season come up again it will bring the spill oil up again from the ground. The spill is already affecting our source of water, it is a very terrible situation we are face with”.

According to him “What happened is that, there was an infraction on the pipeline by vandals and a Joint Inspection Visit (JIV) was conducted by the company (HEOSL) and the community and was ascertained that it was a third party interference on the pipeline that cause the oil spillage.

“When such happens there is a law that everybody knows, compensation will not be paid to anybody as result of the third party interference. The company will also nominate a contractor that does the clean up but when it is an equipment failure the community nominate a contractor that does the clean up and compensation is paid to the community for their farmland, crops and fishing ponds that the oil spillage impacted on.

He said the company gave out the job to a contractor Engr. Daniel Omoyibo popularly known as Damotech to clean up the spillage but at the middle of the clean up, he stop the job and it was close to the flood season.

“We went to the company to tell them the contractor has stop work on the clean up, alerting them about the flood that is coming with the level of the oil spillage that is on ground, that it will impact on farmland and ponds.

“The company promised to reach out to the contractor, about a week the contractor came back to site. The community advised the contractor to be fast about the clean as a result of the flood, he promised to do his best, within that period the flood came unexpectedly, the contractor left the site, and the oil spill from their right of way to farmland”.

He stated that the oil spillage went as far to neighbouring communities, Emede and Igbide.

“We discovered farmland and fishing ponds has been damaged. We wrote to the company that, this is what is happening they should come and conduct a Joint Inspection Visit to know the extent of damage they refused, we took pictures and videos and send to them they did not respond”.

“I reached out to the company, they said it was a third party interference that the company is not suppose to be liable to anything, we agreed that the original cause of the oil spillage is the third party interference, but what is on ground now is not third party interference that cause it but is the negligence of the contractor that caused the spillage”.

“They promised to look into it, till today as we speak they did not come up with any plan to do the clean up”.

“We are a peace loving community, the step we are taking now is talking to the press, let them talk to the company, we all know the hazard of oil spillage on the people, our people here are farmers and the little portion of land that they have to farm on has been impacted with the spill. So, how do we expect them to feed?

He lamented that “Most of the community people are hungry and crying, there is no farmland to plant their crops, the ponds the spill impacted upon the fishes are all dead. How do you expect the family to feed?, many families depend on them to survive.

“We are appealing to the Delta State government led by Elder Sheriff Oborevwori to come to our aide, we are fed up with this situation, we have talk, cried to the company and nothing has happened. We are patient enough, we don’t want to take laws into our hands’.

Chief Peter Ogodo, Mr. Anthony and Mr. Lucky Ewenede who responded on behalf of Uwheye community condemned the behavior of Heritage Energy Oil Service Limited and the contractor for their inability to clean the oil spillage that affected their farmland.

They said that, as a result of the damaged cause by the oil spillage they cannot go to their farm land, noting that their fishing ponds and economic tress has been destroyed.

They however appealed to the Delta State governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori to call HEOSL to get the contractor back to site to avoid breakdown of law and order in the community.

All effort to reach out to the contractor and the public relations officer of Heritage Energy Oil Service Limited prove abortive as they refused picking up their mobile phone.