Aja-Omaetan community petitions NOSDRA, Chevron over oil spillage

Oil-rich Aja-Omaetan community in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State have petitioned the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRSA, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL over three months unabated crude oil spill.

In the petition signed by Dokpegboritse J. Atotuoma, Esq. on behalf of Breda M. Saliu  and Co., copied to the Managing Director of the Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Companies, PPMC counsel to the community and dated August 16, 2017, stating that the spill which occurred on June 1, 2017 is yet to abate three months after three Joint Investigation visits by CNL with the spill estimated at over 30 drums of crude oil per day despoiling the water bodies and land mass of Aja-Omaetan and the neighbouring communities.

According to the letter addressed to the Director-General of NOSDRA, Chevron officials have designed a scheme through which some selected leaders of the impacted communities are financially induced to enable the company “compromise the standard industry practice as it relates to the management of oil spill”, saying that “Aja-Omaetan community is being victimize by Chevron for insisting on compliance with standard industry practice”.

They accused NOSDRA officials in Delta of complacency even as they maintained that Chevron has employed a “dubious compensation to the community leaders and inducement of NOSDRA personnel has assumed an unprecedented dimension and proportion” and called on the Director General of NOSDRA to urgently intervene to correct these anomalies or they may be constrained to explore other legal option open to them with in assailable evidence at their disposal.

×