Following the oil spill in Aleto town of Eleme Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, the community is not resting on its laurels and taking steps in liaising with the oil company involved to find a solution to the pollution.
The traditional ruler of Eleme Kingdom, Philip Obele, along with other members of his traditional council, on Wednesday, inaugurated a 10-man committee to interface with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) with a view to containing the spill from the SPDC wellhead at Edemaku community in Aleto.
The traditional ruler said the steps being taken were to find a way to reduce the destructive effects of the oil spill both on the natives and aquatic life within the area of impact.
Though the battle to contain the spill into the Okulu River rages on, the effects are still clearly visible as aquatic life and the livelihoods of communities on the banks of the river have been impacted.
The co-chairman of the committee, Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, who is also an environmentalist, ruled out sabotage, claiming that from their preliminary investigation, they suspected it was a case of equipment failure.
At the scene, the community’s lawyer expressed displeasure with the situation, saying he was there to see things for himself.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA), Idris Musa, in a telephone interview with Channels Television, said the Joint Investigation Visit had yet to determine the cause of the spill.
Musa added that containment of the spill and the mapping out of the area of impact was ongoing with government agencies actively involved.