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Environmentalists Seek probe of crude oil leak in Bayelsa community

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The Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called for the investigation and public disclosure of oil leaks reported in Bayelsa communities. 

The group called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Bayelsa Government not to conceal the result of laboratory analysis of the sample of fresh crude oil deposits discovered in the state.

 

Mr Alagoa Morris, Head of Field OPerations, ERA/FoEN, made the appeal in a field report on the discovery of crude at Otuabula II community in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.

A team comprising officials of the state government, NOSDRA and ERA/FoEN accompanied by community representative, Thompson Okpukpu-Isi, and security personnel recently visited the site.

The report quoted Gov. Douye Diri’s Senior Special Assistant on Oil and Gas, Mr Timi Seimiebo, who led the team, as saying that NOSDRA took samples of the crude oil for laboratory tests during the visit to Otuabula II bush.

Seimiebo said the team asked the community questions to ascertain whether the crude oil leakage was from operational causes or from illegal oil bunkering activities or leakage from a facility in the area.

The governor’s aide said: “It is a virgin place and everybody has seen there is no pipeline here. 

“So we cannot say it is a pipeline leakage. We have asked the community people whether there are any bunkering activities going on here and they said no.

“Anybody doing local refinery operations here, they said no. So the next thing is for the federal and state governments to take action. 

“Firstly, we wait for the test result to come out, then other necessary steps will follow.

“If the result shows that it is a refined crude oil substance, the fingerprint will tell us whichever company that owns it. That’s the simple truth. 

“However, if it turns out to be a new discovery, it will eventually add to the revenue of the state.”

ERA/FoEN, however, urged the state government and NOSDRA to make public the result of the laboratory analysis and also inform the landlord family, community and stakeholders, accordingly, of the findings.

The rights group advocated that the community should never be sidelined if the result of the sample turned out to be genuine fresh crude oil, especially in negotiations.

“The Bayelsa State Government and NOSDRA should make the result of the sample test public, especially to the family, community and all stakeholders who visited the site of interest as soon as it is out.

“Not just for Otuabula II, if the substance taken for laboratory analysis turns out to be crude oil, it should be made public.

“The issue of best environmental practices by oil companies should always be stressed whenever new negotiations are to be initiated with host communities, including renewal of MoUs to avoid the bitter experiences communities go through,” the report read in part. (NAN)

Environment

Prolonged Public Holidays Come with Negative Economic Effects on Citizens – Anambra Residents

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Anambra residents have slammed the additional day approved by the Federal Government for the Muslim faithful to celebrate the 2024 Eid-Ei-Fitr, saying this will have negative effects on the economy.

The Federal government had early declared April 9 and 10 as Muslim-Ummah for the successful completion of a month’s spiritual rejuvenation.

Reports says that residents of Anambra capital city believe that the additional day which they did not plan for will result in economic hardship to the citizenry.

Most respondents believe that people had planned to resume their economic activities instead of wasting their time staying at home doing nothing..

Former Chairman, Awka Chamber of Commerce, Chief Felly Akosa, described the additional day to the two days approved earlier as “unfair to the economy of the country as people were unprepared for the additional day.

Akosa said that although it is right for the Muslim faithful to celebrate their holiday after a month-long fasting, the process needs to be carefully planned for in place of the additional rest day which could inhibit business activities.

Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, National Vice President of Igbo Apex Social Cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the policy would cause huge economic waste as businesses are put on hold,

He advised that, in future, a proper and well planned programme needs to be in place before declaring a public holiday for any celebration that will be national.

“Our economy and other sectors are not very healthy,” and it would, therefore be appropriate to plan well to avoid declarations that will hamper the citizens’ welfare.

Mazi Christian Beluchukwu, a business man in Awka, described the extension of the Eid-El-Fitr public holiday to Thursday, April 11, as an added hardship for the citizenry.

Beluchukwu said that any public holiday for three days, April 9 to 11, to celebrate any feast in the country is an economic loss to the nation.

He said that it was best to stick to the two-day national public holidays as this gives room for the people to plan their activities very well.

He stated that his wife went to a public hospital on Tuesday and was unattended to because there was no doctor on seat to provide medical attention.

“She resorted to visiting a private hospital which cost extra money which the public hospital is expected to handle at a reasonable cost. (NAN)

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Environment

World Bank Fund: Corporation Rehabilitates Treatment Plant, Reticulation in Jos South

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The Jos Water Services Corporation (JWSC) has said that the World Bank fund received would be used to boost water supply to Bukuru and environs in Jos South Local Government Area.

Mr Apollos Samchi, the Managing Director of the corporation, said that N1.7 billion would be expended on the rehabilitation of water treatment plant, over head steel tank and laying of pipes to homes of consumers.

Samchi, who disclosed this on Friday in Jos, during a two-day capacity building workshop, said that the projects were expected to be completed in four months.

Reports says that the workshop organised for contractors has at its theme: “Implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for Projects in Jos South.

The MD said that the projects would ensure steady provision of potable water to residents in Gyel and Kurgiya in Jos South Local Government Area.

He said the treatment plant when rehabilitated would pump out 5,000 cubic litres of water daily.

The MD further stated that the reticulation exercise would cover residents who weren’t initially connected to public water supply in the area.

Samchi said that the essence of the workshop was to ensure that the contractors were trained to develop adequate measures and controls to minimise and mitigate potential environmental and social risks that could adversely affect the project implementation.

He called on all the contractors handling the projects to ensure that they adhered to the environmental and safety standards and deliver within the specified timeframe.

In his remarks, Mr Jonathan Malann, the Plateau Project Coordinator, Sustainable Urban, Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (SURWASH), also advised contractors to adhere to the environmental and safety standards as provided by the World Bank.

The Federal Government had received $700m financing from the World Bank to ensure that all its people have access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services.

The seven participating states are Plateau, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Katsina, and Kaduna.(NAN)

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Environment

Erosion Control Project: Gombe SEC Approves N389m Compensation for Residents

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The Gombe State Executive Council (SEC) has approved payment of N389 million as compensation for residents that would be affected by the gully erosion control project at Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical and its surrounding communities.

The Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Malam Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.

Magaji said the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.

He said almost 1000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.

According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.

Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.

“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost a 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.

“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they are able to have good livelihood,” he said.

The commissioner for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.

Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.

She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools were already being upgraded to global standards.

“We have seen construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed a N12 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within Gombe metropolis.

The project is under ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria. (NAN)

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