LOCAL fishermen in Bonny, a bustling natural gas island of Rivers State, are locked
in a battle with ExxonMobil, an American oil giant. The fishermen are accusing the
oil major of what they described as ''a desperate attempt'' to cover up a fresh oil
spill in the area.
According to the fishermen, ''a catastrophic oil spill occured last Saturday at
ExxonMobil's Yoho oilfield location in Akwa Ibom state''. The fishermen are operating
under the name, Organization of Fishermen, Sea food Dealers and Farmers in
Niger Delta (OFSDF/ND).
Chairman of the group's board of trustees, Mr. Richard Abbey, on Monday claimed
that the spill occurred around 4.30 - 5pm during the loading of a foreign vessel,
Northstar, on Saturday June 19, 2010, when suddenly a burst from the host linking
the Yoho field location, to the company’s Floating, Storage, Offloading, (FSO)
tanker.
The spill, he insisted, has gradually spread to Amanam, Chevron oil field and the
Bonny anchorage in Bonny Island, Rivers state.
He, however, disclosed that the American oil giant responded swiftly to the spillage,
discharging two boats to curtail the flow but condemned the company’s decision to
spread dispersant chemical on the sea, an action he said was intended to conceal
any trace of the spill from the community and fishermen in order to avoid payment of
necessary compensation to the two entities who are hit by the environmental
disaster.
He argued, ''if one of the measures to tackle the spill is spreading dangerous
dispersant chemical on the sea we are seriously against it because it is capable of
endangering the lives of aquatic species on the sea, and do further harm to
fishermen whose lives depend on the sea. The spread of the chemical itself is
another crime added to the crude oil spill that has done enough ecological damage
to the sea''.
Commenting on the effect of oil spill within the fishing area, Mr.Akpan Esuet a
fisherman in the area, regretted that apart from its bad effect on the ecosystem,
many fishermen, whose means of livelihood is tied to the ocean, are now without
visible source of income.
Similarly, he noted, the multi-national oil company’s dispersant chemical sprayed on
the affected waters has adversely affected the people, as indigenes of the area now
complain of eye problems from the wind blowing from the Atlantic Ocean.
ExxonMobil, he said, is yet to own up to the occurrence, but added that the
desperate attempt to conceal the spill is not only seen as evil and dangerous but a
desperate attempt to shy away from responsibility.
The fishermen are calling on relevant authorities to warn the oil company as the
alleged deliberate attempt to avoid the compensation of both the community and
fishermen directly affected might be their greatest undoing.
They have decried the mode of settlement by transnational oil companies in the
event of a spill. According to them when a spillage occurs, companies are always in
the habit of settling only the host community, without realising that the fishermen
who toil on the sea are the most affected.
Some of the fishermen who are lamenting over the development stated that majority
of the fishermen who fish on the sea come from diverse ethnic groups and reside in
fishing ports, so, they neither live in the community nor are they members of the
community. In the event of a spill they are not allowed to benefit from the community
compensation hence, they are making a case and are prepared to challenge
multinational companies in the court of law if that is what is required to make them
see reason why they also must be compensated. After all they maintained that they
are the ones whose source of livelihood has been directly taken away as a result of
the pollution.
On the May 2010 spill that occurred in Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Richard Abbey the
OFSDF/ND helmsman disclosed that the compensation money has generated a lot
of controversy following rejection the of N600 million naira compensation money
given by Mobil.
Similarly, he also added that the spill in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom has been curtailed but
there is some leakages. he condemned the clamping work done maintaining that a
lot of work need to be done asl drifts from the clamped pipes still pollutes the sea.
On Shell’s reaction to the Oloma, Bonny spillage, he lambasted the multinational
company over their decision to hold meeting with companies that to start the repairs
of the flow line replacement, instead of embarking first on a cleaning up the spill,
compensation of the affected community and fishermen before arranging on the
repairs. He used the opportunity to call on Shell to expedite action and come up
with workable modalities on how to compensate the fishermen and the community
affected while making efforts to proffer final solution to curb the effect of the Oloma
spill.. He also warned that the Organization of Fishermen, Sea food Dealers and
Farmers in Niger Delta (OFSDF/ND) will not fail to take appropriate action should
they fail to consider the plight of the fishermen.
The issue of compensation, accusations of conspiracy by multinational companies
and sabotage has been constant points to contend with in this spillage drama. It is
no longer news that those living in Nigeria's oil-rich delta are suffering a human
rights tragedy inflicted by decades of environmental damage caused in large part by
multinational companies. The contamination has damaged farmland, destroyed fish
stocks and polluted the air and water, while oil companies' response has been
misleading or inadequate.
However, it has been alleged that multinational companies has exploited the
instability and lack of oversight to cover up oil spills caused by its own out-of-date or
faulty equipment and these are the fundamental issues that need to be addressed
hence, the constant call by the fishermen organisation to oil companies to own up to
their responsibilities. ENDS
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