The member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Rodney Ambaiowei, has appealed to host communities to protect oil and gas infrastructures in their domain against vandals.
Ambaiowei made the appeal on Monday, October 21, 2024, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while handling over relief materials to four communities affected by an oil spill in Tebidaba and Ogoinbiri pipelines.
The communities are Olugboboro, Olugbobiri, Tebitaba and Okonriama, which are hosts to oil facilities recently acquired by Oando from Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
The relief materials provided include a truckload of food items comprising garri, rice, spaghetti, vegetable oil, tomato paste, iodised salt, seasoning cubes and beverages.
Other items are truck load of plastic buckets, blankets, mosquito nets, toilet soap and detergent.
The lawmaker said that the relief materials were provided by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMÀ).
Ambaiowei, who facilitated the intervention, said there was the need for host communities to protect oil facilities because oil was one the mainstay of the economy.
“I want to advice my constituent, to please endeavour as much as you can to protect the pipelines, because the more we protect the pipelines for spillage not to occur, more money will come to the coffers of the federal and state governments to provide democracy dividends,” Ambaiowei said.
He also urged community leaders to enlighten their subjects not to destroy pipelines in their domain.
The lawmaker stated that the palliatives distributed were to ameliorate the sufferings of the communities whose environment had been polluted thereby hindering means of livelihood.
“For people that their means of livelihood are affected, these relief materials will be useful support to the victims,’’ Ambaiowei said.
He also tasked community leaders to share the palliatives equitably to all affected households in their communities.
Ambaiowei used the opportunity to commend the Director-General of NEMA and the management of the agency for their prompt response to the plight of the communities.
Speaking earlier, the Zonal Coordinator, NEMA, South-South Zone, Port Harcourt, Mr. Adebiyi Razaq said that when NEMA received the report of the spillage, the agency went into action and visited the site.
He noted that since the people’s means of livelihood had been adversely affected, there was need for intervention to offer succour to them.
Razaq also appealed to the communities to be on the alert and inform appropriate authorities swiftly whenever there was problem.
Dr Simeon Ayogo, Director of Information and ICT in the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the representative of Southern Ijaw LGA in the board of the agency, decried spillage.
Ayogo promised that the agency would ensure that the relief materials were delivered to the beneficiaries.
Mr. Basil Kenbo, community leader and the Technical Adviser to Bayelsa Governor on Federal Projects and Programmes coordination, who spoke on behalf of the four communities, commended the lawmaker and NEMA for the relief materials.
By Nathan Nwakamma
