By Aaron Ossai
The House of Representatives Committee on the South-South Development Commission has commenced an investigation into the reported gas leak in Bille Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, with a pledge to establish the cause of the incident and ensure accountability.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Julius Gbabojor Pondi, disclosed this on Thursday at an interactive session held at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, where key stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, regulators and government officials were invited to provide information on the incident.
Pondi said the probe was in line with the oversight powers of the National Assembly under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), noting that the investigation was necessitated by the environmental, public health and socio-economic implications of the gas leak on residents of Bille Community.
He said the Committee would determine the immediate and underlying causes of the incident, ascertain whether there were breaches of environmental regulations or operational standards, and assess the adequacy of the emergency response by the operating company and relevant government agencies.
According to him, the lawmakers will also examine the status of compensation for affected residents, environmental remediation and ecological restoration efforts, as well as medical interventions and relief support provided to the impacted community.
“As representatives of the Nigerian people, we have a duty to ensure that operators in the oil and gas industry conduct their activities in accordance with extant laws, environmental regulations and international best practices, while also ensuring that host communities are adequately protected from avoidable environmental and safety hazards,” Pondi said.
He added that the Committee was approaching the investigation with an open mind and would not prejudge any individual or institution, stressing that its objective was to establish the facts, identify operational or regulatory shortcomings and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.
Pondi said the outcome of the interactive session would guide the Committee in proposing legislative, regulatory and policy measures aimed at strengthening environmental governance, improving regulatory oversight and promoting sustainable development in the South-South region.
He described the South-South as critical to Nigeria’s economy and stressed the need to ensure that resource development in the region is environmentally sustainable, socially responsible and beneficial to host communities.
The interactive session was attended by representatives of the Rivers State Government, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), NNPC Eighteen Operating Ltd (NEOL), the South-South Development Commission and other stakeholders.
In his vote of thanks, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Kabiru Yusuf Alhaji, commended participants for their contributions, saying their presentations and recommendations would assist the Committee in developing a robust legislative framework to advance sustainable development in the South-South region.
He thanked stakeholders for their cooperation and reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to translating the outcome of the engagement into legislative actions that would address the challenges facing oil-producing communities.
