Residents and neighbouring communities in Okpare-Olomu, Ughelli south local government area of Delta state, on Wednesday decried the impact of oil spill on their communities.
They asked the Nigerian government to come to their aid as their means of livelihood were being destroyed.
College Akpoughegbe, chairman of Edjophe community, who made the call in interview with journalists in Ughelli, said the spillage emanated from a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
He said the incident started on Friday, and it had spread to other communities such as Iwhrekan and Otor-Edo.
Akpoughegbe said that spillage had affected farming and fishing activities in the affected communities.
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Attributing the development to equipment failure, he alleged that the NPDC officials, in self-defence, linked the oil spill with activities of saboteurs.
“The oil spill, which started on Friday, has impacted severely on farming and fishing activities in our communities,” he said.
“The spill emanated from a pipeline belonging to the NPDC but they attributed it to activities of saboteurs.
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“Officials of NPDC, Department of Petroleum Resource (DPR) and the Delta Government carried out a JIV test on Tuesday to ascertain the cause of the spill but the result is not available yet.”
Omonigho Edafe, one of the residents, a farmer, corroborated the chairman’s view, saying that his farmland was greatly affected by the oil spill.
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