Nembe Oil Spill: IDC demands $500,000 compensation as expert slams AITEO over sabotage claim
Three weeks after the oil spill at Nembe, Bayelsa State, an environmental expert, Prof. Richard Steiner has blamed the spillage on “gross negligence” and non-adherence to internal best practice by AITEO Group, the oil company operating in Nembe, Bayelsa State.
AITEO Group, the Oil Company whose activities caused the oil spill had alleged sabotage by some undisclosed group and individuals as the cause of the spillage but Prof Steiner in a recent television interview stated that the spillage may be caused by the company’s equipment failure.
Prof Steiner who is the Technical Adviser to Ijaw Diaspora Council on Nembe Oil Spill said instead of the blame game the cause of the spillage can be “confirmed by independent engineers” who can investigate and say exactly what happened.
“The company should have had a well-integrated programme to inspect the well,” he stressed.
He also alleged that the company did not adopt global best practice standards for the well to ensure that it is up to American Petroleum Institute Standard, American Society for Mechanical Engineering Standards as required by Nigerian Law.
IDC demands
Meanwhile, members of Ijaw Diaspora Council (IDC) have come down hard on Aiteo Oil Exploration and Production Company, the oil firm in charge of OML 29, which is responsible for the ecological disaster
IDC made a seven-point demand in a letter addressed to Mr. Benedict Peters, Chief Executive Officer of Aiteo Oil Exploration and Production Company, and made available to Morenews.ng from their base in Newark, New Jersey, United States, including an immediate deployment of equipment to the spill site to contain the spill and an interim compensation of $500,000 to victims in the affected communities.
We are deploying resources – AITEO
This comes as Aiteo announced in a statement that it was deploying resources to the location to help contain the crisis. Letter from the Ijaw Diaspora Council, dated November 15, 2021, and signed by Professor Mondy Gold, Director of Community Outreach, Dr. Festus Odubo, and Director of Conflict Resolution, Dr. Brisibe Nabena, and titled “RE: Urgent demands from the Ijaw People in response to the major Aiteo oil spill in Nembe LGA, Bayelsa State,” and copied to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri
FG urges AITEO to pause operation
The Federal Government of Nigeria has urged AITEO Group to pause operation at Nembe oil spill site until a proper investigation is carried out while Bayelsa State Government has ordered AITEO to expedite to contain the oil spill that occurred at its facility in the Nembe local government area of the state.
Serious hardship in Nembe
The Nembe oil spill, which began at the company’s wellhead and is now in its third week, is said to have completely destroyed the fishing and farming communities’ sources of livelihood, with an unconfirmed report that a nine-year-old girl died as a result of breathing complications caused by the hydrocarbon effusion.