Niger Delta: pollution management in Bayelsa State (3/3)
Audio 02:15
The Nigerian oil company AITEO is accused of being responsible for the oil spill currently ravaging the Niger Delta.
© REUTERS / Akintunde Akinleye
By: Moïse Gomis Follow
2 mins
Several towns and villages in Bayelsa State are currently being ravaged by an oil spill and gas pollution.
Our correspondent went to Nembe, about fifty kilometers from Yenagoa, the state capital of Bayelsa, then took a motorboat to visit communities of several hundred fishermen living along the Santa Barbara River.
Despite the ecological disaster, this area has not been declared an environmental emergency by Abuja.
The governor of Bayelsa State is threatening to sue federal agencies for their lack of neutrality.
And the local communities feel helpless in the face of the omnipotence of the Nigerian oil company AITEO, presumed responsible for the oil spill.
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Sitting in his chair, his right hand clinging to the cane he never leaves, Chief Oringo presides over the free council of the chiefs of Nembe.
This retired teacher was among the first people to see the damage caused by the Santa Barbara No. 1 well.
Since that day, a cold anger has not left Chief Oringo.
“
We are imprisoned here, trapped.
And gases are everywhere.
And there is no escape route.
We cannot escape this environment.
»
With the other members of his Council of Chiefs, Chief Oringo participates in all crisis meetings related to the pollution of the Santa Barbara River.
However, Chief Oringo is under no illusions.
Because the oil company AITEO puts forward the thesis of the sabotage of its installation.
“
AITEO, we cannot go and fight them.
If we fight them, the oil spill will continue with all its side effects.
We pray for only one thing
: that AITEO brings in the right people to stop the pollution.
This is the prerequisite before considering anything else.
»
Contacted to explain his company's position, the AITEO spokesperson politely declined.
Regulators aligned with oil companies
For its part, the State of Bayelsa intends to seek legal compensation.
In Yenagoa, at the Ministry of the Environment, engineer Unai Reuben heads the pollution department.
With each oil spill, the federal agencies in charge of the investigations systematically align themselves with the private oil companies.
And for Unai Reuben, it's a flagrant lack of neutrality.
“
Representatives of the agency in charge of pollution and those of the commission of regulation of the petroleum industry believe that Nigeria belongs to them.
But it is an environmental issue and Bayelsa State also has jurisdiction to deal with it.
How can a regulator say he speaks on behalf of an oil company
?
It's unbelievable, but I have proof.
»
This possible legal battle should be long.
And for now, no authority has asked people to leave the area of the oil spill while toxic gases remain suspended in the air.
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Africa
Nigeria
Pollution
Environment
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Niger Delta: in Bayelsa State, nature and inhabitants victims of an oil spill (2/3)
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Niger Delta: in Nembe, pollution makes its inhabitants fear poverty (1/3)