SENATE TO START PROBE ON THE OPERATIONS OF OIL COMPANIES IN THE NIGER-DELTA

The Chairman of the committee on Niger-Delta, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, stated in an interview with the press that the Senate had perfected arrangements to begin probe into various toxic wastes allegedly dumped in the communities by the multinational oil companies operating there with the allegations that some people in these areas were already affected and dying of cancer induced by the toxic wastes.The Senator lamented that the people had a report of investigations conducted on the "toxic waste effect in Delta North Senatorial District, which the people had been pursuing since 2003" and in fact, he said "the people took their case to some Federal Government agencies which took samples but up till today, they have not brought the report." And because the whole issue was somehow handled "they left it there."

Nwaoboshi therefore said the committee had concluded plans to summon all the affected oil companies responsible for the agonies the people of the communities are going through because of the toxic wastes.

“Two people from that area had been diagnosed of cancer already. Nobody is saying anything about it. We need to know what they have done for the affected community,” He explained.

He said further that the affected oil firms responsible will have to appear before the committee "and explain their roles, NNPC has to tell us all the major operators in that area, they will give us the names and we will compare it with what we have."

He also said the committee would like to know what the NNPC was doing about the oil pipeline protection contracts "and reasons why it was using foreigners to protect them instead of employing people from the local communities who could do it better with zeal, commitment and patriotism.”

He further explained that his committee would carry out a holistic oversight on all Niger Delta Development Commission projects awarded so far in order to check wastage and ensure that the essence of establishing the agency was not jeopardised on the altar of greed.

And that, “We want to know the contractors who were responsible for the abandoned projects because obviously, they are greedy. They don’t want to do the job but rather, would prefer, in connivance with certain people in the office, sell the contracts to other incompetent contractors."

“I can stay on my table and monitor projects in the Niger Delta region. All I need to do is to call an All Progressives Congress member and a Peoples Democratic Party member or any of my colleagues in the House of Assembly to find out the status of the project.

“We will have a different approach. There are many things that have gone wrong in the region, many things have been destroyed there. There are many issues that have been swept aside and others not effectively handled,"he said.