Youths of Ibeno Local Government of Akwa Ibom State have given International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the area seven days to clean up their environment.
They issued the ultimatum at the weekend after patches suspected to be oil spill substances were found along the community’s coastline.
The youth threatened to stop the operations of the IOCs, particularly those of ExxonMobil, if a proper clean-up is not carried out.
Upon the discovery of the patches, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) summoned ExxonMobil, Savannah Energy, Monipulo, Addax and Frontier Oil on an inspection of the affected areas.
The Chairman, Ibeno Labour Committee, Chief Friday Ebong, said suspected oil spill substances had impacted negatively on the aquatic life of communities in the area.
“Our primary occupation is fishing. We can’t continue to have our waters polluted by the oil companies because it kills fishes on our waters.
“We have recorded low catches due to incessant oil spills. The most annoying part is that ExxonMobil that operates directly in our land and on waters has refused to take responsibility for the spill.
“When we observed the strange substances on our shores, we quickly notified ExxonMobil, but in their usual character they didn’t respond to it. That prompted us to invite NOSDRA to come and see things for themselves.
“We are a peaceful people, but if the clean-up is not done within one week, we will mobilise and stop ExxonMobil and other IOCs from operating on our waters.”
A representative of NOSDRA, Mr. Akan Odungide, said the patches found on Ibeno coastline, running into about eight kilometres, would be subjected to laboratory test to ascertain if they were oil spill substances. He urged IOCs to team up and clean up Ibeno coastline to avert unrest from youths.
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