By Obiabin Onukwugha
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has called for an urgent and lasting solution to the gas leakage in Bille community, Degema local government area of the state.
The governor spoke after an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting attended by representatives of the Federal Government, state officials, regulatory agencies, industry operators and leaders of Bille Kingdom at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Fubara said the government was taking the concerns of the people seriously and is working with all relevant agencies to determine the cause of the gas leakage and to resolve it permanently.
He expressed concern over the impact of the gas leak on the people, saying the state government will upgrade the community’s Primary Healthcare Centre to address the health concerns arising from the incident. “The people have been making requests that government should come to their rescue and resolve the situation,” the governor said.
He explained that the state government had already visited the affected community alongside officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and industry operators. “What we are doing today is an enlarged meeting where all the parties are sitting together to look at the cause of the issue and the most possible way to get the problem resolved,” he said.
Fubara described the meeting as successful and expressed confidence that further actions in the coming weeks would bring relief to the people of Bille.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, who led the Federal Government delegation, said the federal government had been actively responding to the incident. “The safety of the people is paramount. We can understand their anxiety, the worry and the danger that this thing poses within the area, but the Federal Government is committed to finding a lasting solution to the problem,” Ekpo said.
He disclosed that experts were deployed to the community immediately after the incident was reported, but investigations had been challenging because there are no known oil and gas facilities around the location of the leakage. “The investigation is still going, but we need collaboration from the people of Bille Community so that we would be able to arrive at a lasting solution,” Ekpo stated.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, assured residents that the commission and industry operators were committed to addressing the community’s immediate needs.
She pledged support in providing potable water and fire trucks to the affected community while investigations continue.
Earlier, the Public Relations Officer of the Council of Chiefs of Bille Kingdom, Chief Rena Dappa, outlined the challenges facing the community and appealed for urgent government intervention to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of residents.
The gas leakage in Bille, which started last year November has heightened concerns among residents over possible environmental and health implications, prompting coordinated efforts by federal and state authorities to find a permanent solution.