S’South Govs push regulation on oil spill

The South South Governors Forum have called on Nigeria’s federal government to put in place stronger regulations that would guide oil and gas production so as to protect the environment. They pushed for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure direct benefit by communities where oil is exploited. They also set up a Commission called BRACED whose acronym was drawn from the first letters in the names of the member states Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta. BRACED is charged with founding a private-sector driven economic development for the region.

The Governors had earlier attended a peace meeting to curb the squabbles crippling the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Other Governors in the NDDC meeting were those of Abia,  Ondo and Imo.

The South South governors also commended actions so far taken by President Goodluck Jonathan in the management of the amnesty programme.

A communiqué they issued said inter alia, “The South South Governors call on the federal government to expedite action on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill which is aimed to directly benefit communities where the oil resources are being exploited”,.

Another Oil Spill by Mobil.

Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited has admitted another oil spill from its facility at Qua Iboe oil field but did not disclose the volume of loss, the third incident so far since this year.

The Qua Iboe oil fields recorded oil spills on December 4, 2009; March 24, 2010; May 1, 2010 and on June 21, 2010.

The volume of the latest oil spill is now a subject of controversy between MPN and the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which monitors spills and their clean up.
The latest spill was recorded from “Idoho-Usari” oil well located about 20 kilometers offshore.

The spill was reported to NOSDRA on June 21 with Mobil promising that sections of the  shoreline with spill impacts will be cleaned. In a statement signed by Mrs. Gloria E. Essien-Danner, Executive Director and General Manager, Public  and Government Affairs, it said “MPN  continues to monitor the area for clean up of any residual deposits   arising from the May 1 oil leak incident”.

NOSDRA’s Zonal Director at Uyo field office, Mr. Irvine Obot, said: “The spill has been reported to us and we have observed that the volume claimed by the oil firm is doubtful, because the oil deposits were sighted at the shoreline. If the volume was insignificant as claimed, it will not get to shoreline which is about 20 kilometers from the spill location.

“We hope to engage officials of the oil company on all the grey areas while we run tests on the samples we collected and we expect the results in a few days from now.  We got reports of the incident and responded by deploying staff to the spill site before they reported to us.”
According to him, the oil spill agency  detected the oil spill last week Monday at the Qua Iboe oil fields and subsequently commenced investigation on the spill incident to determine the cause and impact on the marine environment, among other things.

Niger Delta Post-Amnesty Programme Begins

TIMI ALAIBE, SPECIAL ADVISER ON NDDC

Nigeria’s N4billion Post Amnesty programme for Niger Delta ex-militants kicked off on June 27 with 20, 000 ex-militants to be trained in non-violence transformation, during the next six months according to Allen Onyema, Chairman, Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), who disclosed this to newsmen, shortly after the trainers arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos from the United States, aboard a Delta flight two days earlier.

Onyema said the programme suffered a little delay, shortly after it started. “Federal Government believes that there are various ways to fight for liberation, and not only through violence. We have discovered that weapons of war will do harm to Nigeria, and that is why government came out with this kind of programme. And with this, we have been able to transform so many Nigerians, even Africans,” he said.

He said that about 6,000 ex-militants that were earlier trained by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had showed the international community that militancy in Nigeria could be a thing of the past.

“Since the amnesty programme came on board, the international community had been very supportive. This programme will liberate Nigerian youths from the shackles of violence that has been witnessed in the past,” he said.

Fuel Bunkering Suspects Handed To Police

The Navy’s NNS Victory Command in Calabar has handed over two men arrested by the Nigerian Navy on June 5 on suspicion of siphoning petrol from the NNPC Mega Station in Calabar to Inspector Jerry Agbeyihanne of the Police Marine State Headquarter for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Handover was done by Commander Shehu Gombe for his commanding officer, Commodore Jeremiah Jatau.

Items recovered from the suspects included one 12-foot fiber canoe, two 26 feet wooden boats without outboard engines, 200 metres of three inch hose, two Honda pumping machines (2hp), 200 empty 200-litre drums, 55 empty 50-litre jerry cans and a tool box, were handed over to the Marine police, who ferried same to their base.

The suspects, Godspower Udoeffiong and Emana Effiong, both from Akwa Ibom State, were intercepted while, allegedly, trying to siphon over 40, 000 liters of PMS.

Jatau told newsmen that they carried out the operation on June 5 at about midnight, following intelligence report they got that some people had positioned their boat to siphon PMS from the NNPC jetty.
“We followed it up, and at midnight, we intercepted them and made the arrest. They had already rigged up their pipes, and I believe they had information that we were coming. They immediately fled on sighting our patrol boat. But we were able to grab two”.

But one of the suspects, Godspower Udoeffiong, said they were “innocently” going about their “petty sand business” when they were apprehended. He pointed an accusing finger to one “chairman.” “Till today, we can’t see chairman, who is responsible for this. Chairman is the one who does this business. Everyone knows that,” he said.