WorldStage Newsonline– Following the recent fire outbreak and oil spill from Manifold Well 8/BUG 008 in Rivers State, the Senate has directed its Committees on Environment, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), and other relevant bodies to assess the operators’ compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act and other laws.
The committees are to recommend appropriate sanctions where necessary.
The Senate also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL OML 18 Ltd) to take immediate action in line with its corporate social responsibility and environmental safety commitments.
It urged the company to deploy emergency response teams to assess the disaster’s impact and implement remediation measures for affected communities.
Additionally, lawmakers mandated the National Oil Spillage Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to investigate the cause of the fire and oil spill, submitting a report within four weeks.
These resolutions followed a motion by Sen. Banigo Ipalibo Harry (Rivers West) on the urgent need to mitigate the environmental and humanitarian impact of the incident.
Presenting the motion, Sen. Banigo lamented the extensive environmental damage, displacement of residents, destruction of property, and health risks. She noted that oil spills and fire outbreaks in the Niger Delta are recurring issues, often due to poor safety protocols, sabotage, or weak enforcement of environmental laws.
She highlighted the severe consequences, including contamination of rivers, farmlands, and aquatic life which is a key source of livelihood for communities in Buguma Asalga, Ifoko Asalga, and Bukuma (Agum) in Degema.
“The pollutants pose significant health risks, including respiratory and waterborne diseases, and long-term effects such as cancer and organ damage, escalating the region’s public health crisis,” she stated.
The Senate also expressed concern over delays in response from oil companies and regulatory agencies, which worsen the suffering of affected communities and erode public trust in environmental law enforcement.
The Senate therefore resolved that the Ecological Project Management Committee (EPMC) should deploy intervention funds to the victims of the incident, in addition to assistance by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to address the ecological, health, and social damages caused by the spill.
Speaking on the motion, Sen. Friday Benson Kombowei (Bayelsa Central) decried the continuous suffering of the people in oil exploring areas in the Niger Delta region. He countered arguments by some of his colleagues that the people caused the fire and spillage by their sabotage of the oil infrastructure, asking, “you have some pipelines passing through people’s houses, people’s business places, so what do you expect?”
“People should not just come here and talk down on the pains that people are already experiencing.
“There are a lot of ailments that are going on there now that we were not experiencing before.”
In his contribution, Sen. Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), a former chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission, called for a complete overhaul of oil exploration infrastructure, including pipelines and flow stations.
“Failure to act means sacrificing many lives for the benefit of a few,” he warned.
Similarly, Sen. Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) urged NOSDRA to impose heavy fines on operators for their “irresponsible acts” that are destroying the aquatic environment.
