Members of the upper legislative chamber, The Senate on Tuesday accused the Federal and State Governments of diverting funds appropriated for ecological challenges thereby causing serious natural disasters in many coastal communities in the country.
The lawmakers consequently urged the Federal Government to ensure that Chevron Nigeria Limited pays adequate compensation to communities in the coastal areas affected by its oil rig explosion and fire.
The Senate which stated this in its resolutions on a motion sponsored by Senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Emmanuel Paulker, on ocean surge in the coastal areas and the consequences for coastal dwellers, also called on the Federal Government to put in place measures that would bring lasting solution to the problem.
They recommended aggressive shoreline protection of coastal areas in the country and asked the government to initiate environmental impact assessment to determine the level of damage as a result of the ocean surge on communities within the coastal line.
The red chamber further directed the National Emergency Management Agency, to send relief materials to persons displaced by the ocean surge.
It equally called on the Nigeria Inland Waterways Agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission, and other relevant government agencies to clear the waterways of water hyacinth.
Paulker in the motion, supported by over 30 Senators had explained that residents of coastal communities in Bayelsa and Delta states were recently displaced by rising ocean waves that submerged their communities and destroyed their livelihood.
“Only last week the affected communities in these coastal areas especially Koluama 1, Koluama 11, Foropa and many other communities in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State cried over the current ocean activities in the area.”
He said many of their people were killed, wiped out of their communities and markets and property worth billions of naira destroyed.
“These communities trace the origin of their woes to the unmitigated impact of the Chevron oil rig explosion and fire which occurred in Koluama in January 2012, which they claim was not appropriately tackled.”
Paulker added that under water explosions and vibrations triggered the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed about 29,000 lives and affected about 14 countries along the ocean coast.
He added that similar vibrations were responsible for the devastating tidal waves that hit Japan in 2011, killing tens of thousands of people, destroying homes and properties and damaging Japan’s nuclear and industrial capabilities.
Paulker said that “The Chevron explosion could result in such a calamity if nothing is done to mitigate its impact and other consequent seismic implications.”
Senators James Manager, Hellen Esuene, Ganiyu Solomon, in their various contributions, asked the appropriate government agencies to rise up to the challenge by doing the needful in order to avert disastrous consequences for humanity.
The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session noted that the federal government created ecological funds to take care of such natural disasters but lamented that the government was not applying the fund appropriately.
Ekweremdu said that with the motion, the relevant agencies involved would wake-up and hoped that the agencies would come to the rescue of the victims.
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