The House of Representatives Wednesday mandated its Committees on Environment and Information National Orientation, Ethics and Values to, as a matter of urgency, call a stakeholders’ meeting to interface on the most effective way to curb the escalating negative impact of crude oil spills in Nigeria and report back within eight (8) 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 (APC, Edo).
Presenting the motion, 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.
He stated that 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.
“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, inability of birds to fly as a results of heaviness from being covered in 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 fresh water sources, loss of farm lands 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 when put to voice vote by Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the plenary.
James Kwen, Abuja
