“Dis spill don destroy my farm wia I plant yam, cassava and vegetables. But di main problem for us for di community na di water.”
Dis na wetin Chima Otto tok as e dey count im loss sake of di oil spill from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) facility wey shele on Sunday, 25 August, for Rumuodunwere community for Elelenwo, Obio Akpo local goment area of Rivers State, south-south Nigeria
“Dis oil spill wey happun now no be di first time wey oil spill from dat dia manifold dey happun becos e don happen many times,” Otto tok.
Pipo of di community say di oil spill don spoil dia groundwater and destroy dia farmlands.
Di traditional Rulers of di Community Eze Ken Ndamati Otto tell BBC News Pidgin say di spill happun on 21 August 2024 from one of Shell manifold facilities wey dey di community.
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According to Otto, di spill don spoil di water so now wen dem drill borehole, e no go tay bifor di water spoil, as dem go begin see oil for di water.
“Di colour go change to yellow or brown so pesin no fit use am again.
“Almost evribodi for here don dig up two or three boreholes becos of am so we want make dem come look into dis tin becos we no get water again,” e tok.
“Come see dis borehole, see as di water di water don spoil, see di colour, pesin go fit drink dis kain water? Na wetin we dey suffer for here,” e add.
Anoda indigene, Martin Otto, also complain about di contamination of di ground water for di community sake of oil spill.
E show di boreholes wey e don close sake of say di water wey dey come out dey oily and get colour.
’We want SPDC to change di pipeline to stop future oil spills’
For Dr. Martin Enwuka, one Rumuodunwere indigene, wetin dem want na for SPDC not only to carry out remedial works to clean up di oil spill and but to also treat di groundwater contamination and change di pipeline.
“Dis oil spill don dey happun several times over di past two years so dis one no be di first time.
Na one of Shell trunkline na im dey pass through our community so di oil spill don happun at different points so no be only for dem to come clean dis place, we want dem to change di trunkline becos e don old.
Dis one wey happun na our pipo wey dey close to di area raise alarm on 26 August 2024 say oil don dey gush out from di manifold again and we go dia and see say na so. Oda times di oil don spill from oda points so nobodi go say na sabotage becos di Shell pipo put security dia wey dey guard di place. Na for dem to change di pipeline cos na since 1957 wey dem put am, so e don old,” e tok.
E also want SPDC to give dem water as di several oil spills don spoil di underground water.
“More important for us na for dem [SPDC] to give us water for dis community becos di spill don seep into di ground well well so e don contaminate di groundwater so if we dig borehole, e no go taye bifor di water spoil. You fit dig 150 feet now, di next tin na 300 feet but na just mata of time bifor di water go begin dey oily or change colour to yellow or brown so we want Shell to give us water and treat di damage of di contamination. “
‘We don begin work for di Elelenwo oil spill site’ – SPDC
Wen BBC Pidgin visit di site of di Spill, some engineers in overalls from SPDC and security agents bin dey di site of di spill dey work.
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) confam say dem receive one report on 21 August 2024 of a leak on di 28-inch Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) for di Elelenwo manifold for Rivers State.
SPDC Media Relations Manager, Gladys Afam-Anadu, for statement say dem don stop production for dat line as a precautionary measure for repairs.
Afam-Anadu say dem send di company oil spill response team to inspect di scene as soon as dem receive di report and repair follow one Joint Investigation Visit and afta di repairs of di faulty line, e dey in operation now.
“We expect to conclude our discussions wit di community in di coming weeks regarding di impact wey di spill don cause,” she add.
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