Connect with us
Advertisement

Nigeria News

Niger Delta Fishermen Welcome Buhari’s Assent To PIB, Give Reason

Published

on

Niger Delta Goes Tough On Restructuring Ahead Of 2023 Presidential Poll
Advertisement

The Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, noting that the new law had a lot of promises for the Niger Delta region.

The Coordinator of ARFAN in the Niger Delta, Mr Samuel Ayadi, while speaking with NAN in Yenagoa on Wednesday, celebrated the fact that it is now statutory for oil companies to develop and involve communities where they operate.

He expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which became law on Monday, would be implemented to herald a new era in the oil communities and end the situation where oil exploration activities stifled fishing activities.

The ARFAN coordinator however appealed to the President to prevail on Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) to pay the $3.6 billion fine imposed by the oil industry regulators over the 2011 Bonga oilfield spill.

Advertisement

The fishermen disclosed that they were yet to recover from the adverse effect of the 2020 lockdown on the fishing sector while lamenting their exclusion from the palliatives provided for the agric sector to guarantee food security.

Ayadi noted that ARFAN members had suffered untold hardship fishing at the nation’s territorial waters since 2011 when an equipment failure at the Bonga Offshore field operated by SNEPCO discharged some 40,000 barrels of crude into the waters.

Naija News recalls that on December 20, 2011, during loading of crude at Bonga fields within OML 118, situated at 120 kilometres off the Atlantic coastline, the export line ruptured and discharged crude oil into the waters.

Advertisement

The export line, according to a Joint Investigation Report by National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and SNEPCO, spewed about 40,000 barrels (6.4 million litres) of crude oil into the Atlantic Ocean.

He went on to urge the Buhari administration to resolve the Bonga spill incident by setting up a committee to address the issue of loss of income, while the clean-up exercise of the incident lasted.

According to him, the fishermen were advised by NOSDRA to stop fishing in the impacted waters for several weeks to avoid catching contaminated fish that could jeopardise public health.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Ayadi noted that having complied with a regulatory order by NOSDRA to stop fishing to avoid contaminated fish, they deserved to be indemnified for loss of income for the period the clean-up lasted.