President Muhammadu Buhari (5th left) and some members of his entourage at a dinner with Madeline Albright and 10 others at the Blair House in Washington DC, last Sunday.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has said it is poised to investigate the causes of the recent oil spills at the Adebewa Oil Field operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) at Edagberi/Betterland Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of the state.
The member representing Ahoada West in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Okpokiri Nwanaka Okpokiri, who said this during an inspection of the spill site, said that, the Assembly was determined to get to the root of the spill.
The lawmaker vowed that, those responsible for the incident either from the community or SPDC would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, the present administration in the state led by Chief Nyesom Wike, is prepared to ensure that communities ravaged by Oil Spills got justice.
He, however, appealed to them to remain calm and law abiding, adding that the report of the investigation would be forwarded to the governor as soon as it is concluded.
Meanwhile, the Edagberi/Betterland Community has rejected report of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) conducted by SPDC, Ministry of Environment, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), security agencies and the community representatives.
The Paramount Ruler of the Community, HRH Jacob Sunny Ubele, who said this while addressing the lawmaker and his entourage, also rejected the claim by the company that the Spill was caused by sabotage.
Ubele said that the JIV was usually done in conjunction with the Community, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSPRA) and the federal Ministry of Environment, alleging that none of the government agencies was involved in the JIV.
The paramount ruler also denied that the community prevented officials of the company from entering the site of the oil spill.
The King, who lamented the enormous damages caused by the spills, urged the government to come to the aid of the community by prevailing on the company to provide relief materials to the community.
The spill occurred on well eight in Adebewa Oil Field.
The incident also destroyed farmlands, while the community’s only source of drinking water had been affected.