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Oil spill getting worse in Niger Delta – NOSDRA

By BusinessNews Staff on November 6, 2013

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency on Monday decried the increasing rate of oil spillage in the Niger Delta.

According to the agency, the spillage is getting worse on a daily basis and there is a need for the Federal Government to attend to the plight of residents of the affected communities.

The Board Chairman, NOSDRA, Major Lancelot Anyanya (retd.), said as a result of the development, the board would visit the region in a bid to find a lasting solution to the environmental challenge.

He spoke on the sideline of the inauguration ceremony of the governing boards of agencies/parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Environment in Abuja on Monday.

Anyanya said, “Visiting the region is inevitable. I do not see how we can sit in Abuja and coordinate things. Luckily, the agency has offices in some states and the oil-producing states. I imagine that we will have the opportunity to see some of these activities.

“Luckily, some of us happen to come from these villages. So, we don’t need to stress our imagination too much. Any time we go home for burial or whatever ceremony, we see it and it is getting worse by the day; so, we understand the pain.”

He warned that every citizen, including expatriates hired by the oil firms in the region, could be a victim of oil spillage due to contaminated edibles produce such as sea foods being sold to the public.

Anyanya maintained that the newly inaugurated board of NOSDRA would, as a matter of urgency, visit the Niger Delta to ascertain the level of decay and proffer workable solutions.

[Punch]

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