By Udora Orizu
The House of Representatives has called on the Nigerian Agip Oil Company to immediately ensure the stoppage of the oil and gas leakages on pipelines passing through the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku in Rivers State, to avoid endangering the lives and property of the people living in the Niger Delta region. The House also called on the company to investigate and unravel the causes of the leakages to avert future occurrences of the release of hazardous substances to the environment.
It further called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately visit the affected area and liaise with the company to stop the flow from the pipelines to the neigbourhood.
The resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Nnam Obi Uchechukwu at the plenary yesterday.
Moving the motion, Uchechukwu noted that oil pipelines constitute crucial means of transporting crude oil in Nigeria, and therefore, they are strategically important to Nigerian oil production.
He said the House was aware that with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, a substantial percentage of the pipelines are owned by International Oil Companies (IOCs), including the Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
He also said the House is aware that the Nigerian Agip Oil Company owns pipelines passing through the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku in Rivers State.
Uchechukwu said the institution has been facing severe environmental pollution rising from leakages of the oil and gas pipelines, as well as in the school premises causing tension and danger to students and citizens alike.
While lamenting that academic activities are almost paralyzed due to the spillage, he said the attention of the oil company has been drawn to the environmental disaster, but the company’s reaction has been slow and lethargic, while the lives of the students and the people of communities around the institution are in grave danger.
