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Nigeria Loses 21,300 Barrels Of Oil To Spill, NOSDRA Confirms

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Nigeria suffered losses amounting to 21,291.673 barrels of oil, an equivalent of 3,364,084.375 litres, due to spill in 2020, according to the latest data obtained from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

This showed a 50 per cent decline, compared to 2019, when 42,076.492 barrels of oil (6,648,085.706 litres) were spilled.

NOSDRA, while noting that the spill could be attributed to several factors, explained that the bulk of the spill was caused by sabotage and theft.

According to the agency, much of the spill in 2020 was recorded in February, when 6,327 barrels were lost, followed by 4,676 barrels recorded in January, while July took the third position by recording 2,174 barrels.

In August, 1,815 barrels of spill were recorded, followed by 1,596 barrels in April, while 1,262 barrels were spilled in June.

The agency stressed that December, November, October, September, May and March had 846, 572, 401, 321, 235 and 229 barrels of spill, respectively.

Interestingly, in 2019, February also recorded the highest spill with 9,148 barrels, followed by June with 6,404 barrels, while January made the third position with 5,559 barrels.

Also, November, August, July, October and April had 4,113, 2,620, 1,978, 1,338 and 1,230, barrels, respectively, while September, March, May and December recorded 1,113, 1,015, 993 and 879 barrels, respectively.

For barrels of oil that occurred due to operational issues, March had the highest with 323 barrels, followed by May with 235 barrels, while November had 116 barrels.

Similarly, July, February, had 92 and 45 barrels, respectively, while January and October had 40 barrels each.

In the same vein, April, September, June, December and August had 37, 10, 8, 2 and 0 barrels, respectively.

Coincidentally, in 2019, March also had the highest number of barrels spilled with 2,179, followed by September, which recorded 1,452, while May came third with 610 barrels.

February, May, August, July and November recorded 417, 237, 265, 145 and 123, barrels, respectively, while October, December, June and January recorded 51, 33, 30 and 1 barrels, respectively.

According to NOSDRA, there were around 370 publicly available oil spill records in 2020, which were attributed to about 24 companies.

Prominent among the companies was Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which had 186 spills and 13,280 barrels attributed to it.

This was followed by Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), which had 35 spills with 695 barrels.

Eroton Exploration and Production recorded 21 spills with 4,412 barrels, while Seplat Petroleum Development Company had 21 spills with 95 barrels reported volume.

Heritage Oil Limited had 19 spills worth 378 barrels, while First Exploration and Development Company, ND West and Chevron recorded 12 spills (62 barrels), 10 spills (1,490 barrels) and 9 spills (2 barrels), respectively.

Enageed Resources Limited, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Platform Petroleum Limited, Mid Western Oil & Gas Company had six spills each worth 47, 83, 11 and 143 barrels, respectively.

Aiteo Exploration and Production, as well as Total Exploration and Production recorded five and seven spills each worth 430 and 83 barrels, respectively.

Though Mobil Producing Nigeria and Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company had zero barrel recorded in their names, they had four and seven spills, respectively.

Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, Guaranteed Petroleum Limited and Addax Petroleum recorded two spills each worth 20, eight and zero barrels, respectively.

Esso Exploration and Production Company, Neconde Energy Limited, Kamlik Nigeria Limited and Infravision Limited had one spill each worth zero, 13, 3 and 38 barrels, respectively.

NOSDRA also explained that oil spills could be caused by breaks in ageing or poorly maintained infrastructure, accidents, vandalism and other incidents.

It noted that in the past 10 years, a number of spills have also been caused by oil theft, also known as bunkering.

This is where oil is stolen from pipelines and then shipped to local or international markets.

There has also been an increase in artisanal refining when camps in the mangrove refine crude for local or other needs.

These are unregulated and so can cause serious pollution.

According to NOSDRA, there are no legally binding regulatory penalties or fines for oil spills in Nigeria.

Currently oil companies are required to fund the clean-up of each spill and usually pay compensations to local communities affected if the spill was the company’s fault.

A recent court case related to repeated oil spills in the Bodo area of Ogoniland argues that a failure by companies to adequately protect pipelines from vandalism or theft, or continuing to operate when vandalism or theft is rife, constitutes culpability on behalf of the pipeline operator.

NOSDRA also noted that there are many issues relating to reporting and cleaning up oil spills in Nigeria, including corruption, and insecurity.

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Party Chieftain Hails LG Boss’ Dev Strides

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Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwuche has extolled the sterling leadership being provided by the Chairman of the council, Hon Iyeko Okporo, describing it as unprecedented.
Hon Chukwuemeka described the council chairman as God-sent, considering his achievements in just 100 days in office.
The PDP chieftain said the chairman has rekindled the hope and trust of the people in grassroots governance.
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for enabling his people to have his replica at Akinima.
He explained that the solar water project, the Late Eze Ekpeye Logbo 11 palace fencing, generator house rebuilding and town hall, all in Odiereke Ubie Community can best be described as the hallmark of true leadership.
He said the projects have direct bearing on the basic needs of the people who have suffered untold hardship and bad governance until the saviour came into office.
“ It is thunderous, as you can see the organic support and show of love to the performing chairman. Our people are overwhelmed seeing one of their own touching lives in a special way. As a community ,we have been in the past years without drinking water, but just two months in office, the chairman has provided not just drinking water, but a well-treated solar water project. Okporo is God-sent, no wonder he is nicknamed such. We have compared notes with other chairmen in the past and came to the conclusion that what he is doing in 100 days is overwhelming. Governor Fubara has made us proud by allowing a level playing field that necessitated the emergency of the chairman. You can see the women, men, youths and traditional rulers all saying one thing. God bless Governor Fubara for giving us our own. We owe him prayers and unwavering support,” he said.
In her welcome address, the Ward 9 councillor, Hon Catherine Uriah showered encomiums on the chairman for addressing the basic needs of the people in just 100 days in office.
Hon Uriah also thanked the Governor for allowing the will of the people to prevail in the just concluded local government elections which produced the God fearing chairman.
She said the people of Ward 9 as well as Ahoada West are pleased with the chairman because he is doing well.
She said the people will go to length to show support to him in his determination to redefine governance at the grassroots.

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Group Plans Pilot Farm Programme For 50  Schools

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A community-based non-governmental organisation, The Peoples Encouragers Initiative, is planning a pilot farm project for 50 schools in both Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
Executive Director of the organisation, Chukwuma Abraham disclosed this at the recent International Human Rights Day celebration at Ahoada, headquarters of Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Abraham said the proposed programme which gulps the sum of N45million was intended to bring the youths back to the land and make them self-reliant.
“We hope to mobilise the factors of production inherent in all the schools through this programme to achieve two basic objectives of building self reliant youths and to create a viable and sustainable stream of income for our schools,” he said.
He said the programmme will also keep the youth busy and impact farming skills, stressing that each of the participating schools is expected to nominate at least two members of staff to coordinate and supervise the programme while10 students will be elected as executive members to administer the programmme on a day to day basis in their various schools.
“Every school has a sizeable portion of arable land to carry out the programme of establishing a functional farm in their chosen area of interest. We are hoping to mobilise an estimated N45 million to enable us set up the pilot farms across the 50 schools within Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas,” he said.
He said the celebration was to draw attention of both the Nigerian government and the international community to the issue of human rights violation, adding that findings by the organisation has shown that insecurity and youth unemployment worsened over the past few years as a result of the insecurity that engulfed the Orashi region of the State. We also found out that the high level of cultism and social unrest within our environment is mostly fuelled by the high use of  illicit drugs among the youths. This programme will afford us the opportunity to take a tour through the universal declaration of human rights and reinforce on our youths the understanding that substance abuse can lead to crime, crime can lead to jail term and criminal record can blight their future dreams and life for ever,”he said.
Also speaking, the representative of the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Ikporo Freedom urged the students to shun all forms of anti-social behaviours especially during the holiday season.
He also warned them against joining bad groups and stressed the need for the organisation to include private schools in the programme.
The Chairman of Ahoada East Local Government Council, Hon Ezu R .C . Hezekiah represented by his Deputy, Hon Ununuma Odoi pledged the support of the council to the programme.
He also urged other groups in the area to emulate The Peoples Encouragers Initiative by organizing programms that will impact on the lives of the people.

John Bibor

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NCSU Flays Police Take Over Of Rivers PDP Secretariat

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The Nigeria Civil Service Union(NCSU) has condemned the take over of the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Rivers State by the police, saying the action is against the tenets and principles of the rule of law.
This is even as the union has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to call to order the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike for allegedly orchestrating and instigating the crisis rocking the PDP in the State.
The Rivers State Chairman of NCSU, Comrade Chukwuka Richman Osumah, who made the condemnation in an interview in Port Harcourt, said the police have no right to take over the PDP secretariat, as a ploy to provide cover and protection for members of the state executive of the party loyal to Wike, who were recently sacked by a court of competent jurisdiction in the State.
According to him, the action of the police is in clear defiance of a court ruling sacking the party executives at all levels in the State, instead of taking steps to enforce same.
He regretted that the police have consistently been showing that they are not appreciative of the logistic support Governor SiminalayiFubara has been extending to them, by openly demonstrating their bias, loyalty and allegiance to Wike and his supporters, contrary to their rules of engagement, which uphold and recognise absolute neutrality.
He said the Minister is wasting his time if he thinks that he could destroy the State by orchestrating and instigating needless crisis that is capable of making the State ungovernable, and appealed to President Tinubu to call him and his supporters to order.
Commenting on the fate of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers in the State, who defected from the ruling PDP to the All Progressives Congress(APC), Osumah said their fate is apparently sealed, as the Supreme Court had already given judgment in a similar case, saying, Wike is merely wasting his time by using the lawmakers against Governor Fubara, and causing unnecessary problem in the State.
He said if the Minister and his supporters do not retrace their steps and give peace a chance, the NCSU would have no choice than to mobilise all civil servants in the State, to troop out to the streets and protest against them.
The labour leader stressed the need for the police to vacate the PDP secretariat along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, and respect the High Court ruling which declared the congresses of the party in the State null and void.
While reiterating the need for President Tinubu to call Wike to order, Osumah said the President cannot continue to fold his arms and watch the Minister continuously make frantic efforts to destroy his State.
He also carpeted those blaming Governor Fubara administration for the recent gruesome murder of a Chief Security Officer(CSO) and his son in Igwuruta Ali community, saying those making such insinuations and attributing the sad incident to security lapses on the part of the state government, are missing the point.
He noted that by empowering the police in the State with several operational vehicles and other logistics, it was expected that the police would reciprocate the gesture, by living up to their constitutional obligation of protecting lives and property in the State, contending that Governor Fubara has been playing his part of guaranteeing security in the State.

 

He said the State is generally peaceful and safe, and challenged those criticising the Governor to cast their minds and attention to what is happening in other parts of the country, where killings and other social vices have become the order of the day.
Osumah cited as an example the recent killings in Ebonyi State by Fulani herdsmen as well as incidences of kidnapping and banditry in several other States of the federation, and wondered if Governor Fubara could be held responsible for such anomalies.

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