ERA to NOSDRA, Bayelsa govt: don’t conceal lab result of fresh crude discovery

By Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

The Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Bayelsa State government not to conceal the result of laboratory analysis of the sample of fresh crude oil deposits discovered around Otuabula II community in the Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.

Bayelsa State Head of ERA/FoEN, Mr Alagoa Morris, made the call in a field report on the discovery.

A team comprising officials of the state government, NOSDRA and ERA/FoEN accompanied by the head of landlord family, Thompson Okpukpu-isi, and security personnel recently visited the site.

The report quoted Governor Douye Diri’s Senior Special Assistant on Oil and Gas, Mr Timi Seimiebo, who led the team, as saying that NOSDRA took samples of the crude oil for laboratory test during the visit to Otuabula II bush.

Seimiebo said the team asked the community folks questions on whether the crude oil was authentic and if it was not a product of illegal oil bunkering activities or leakage from a facility in the area.

The governor’s aide said: “It is a virgin place and everybody has seen there is no pipeline here. So we cannot say it is a pipeline leakage. We have asked the community people whether there are any bunkering activities going on here and they said no.

“Anybody doing local refinery operations here, they said no. So the next thing is for the federal and state government to take action. Firstly, we wait for the test result to come out, then other necessary steps will follow.”