Head of Field Operations, Environmental Right Action, Alagoa Moris, has faulted Friday’s visit to the spill site near Funiwa offshore facilities, off the Atlantic coast, saying it was not the statutory Joint Investigative Visit.
ERA was part of the delegation during the visit to Bayelsa State, where oil leakage was recorded on January 16, 2021.
Also part of the visit were Bayelsa government officials, regulatory agencies and representatives of the impacted community.
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According to the News Agency of Nigeria, fishermen around the Atlantic Ocean coastline reported an oil leak suspected to be from the Funiwa fields, where Chevron Nigeria Limited, First Exploration and Production and Conoil Producing Limited operate.
CNL had declared on Friday that reported leaks near its operational areas at Funiwa offshore facilities off the Atlantic coast were not from its facilities, and even pledged to support regulators in tracing the source.
The ERA activist explained that the trip could not be a JIV, as none of the oil companies operating in the area was represented, adding that it was a fact-finding mission to assess the level of impact on the people and the environment.
Morris said, “The visit was an assessment trip to see things and suggest the way forward, given that no oil company has owned up. It cannot be a JIV because no oil company was represented. So, we shall submit an interim report to guide further action.”
But the Youth President of Koluama 1, Kiwei Emmanuel, told newsmen on Saturday that the team was made up of officials of Bayelsa Ministries of Environment and Mineral Resources, as well as Senior Special Assistant to the Bayelsa Governor on Oil and Gas.
Koluama 1 is one of the worst hit areas by the spill.
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