by crossriverwatch admin
Bakassi Riverine communities with stakes in fishing and farming have raised alarm over sufferings allegedly inflicted on them by the activities of oil giants, ExxonMobil and the attendant oil spillage on their water ways.
The Bakassi Riverine Communities are worried that while they were trying to grapple with the wounds, pains and emotional trauma resulting from the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroun, their problems are being compounded by the untold hardship caused by the impacts of oil spills from the activities of EXXONMobil.
A communiqué of the Bakassi Riverine Communities Fishing/Farming Stakeholders Multi-Purpose Cooperative Union, an umbrella body of all the communities, clans and recognized entities existing in Bakassi, endorsed by its stakeholders, Chief Orok Eneyo, Chief Samuel Asuquo, Ndabu Eyo Nakanda, Chief Effiong Edet Effiong, Chief Ani Esin and many others, made available to CrossRiverWatch in Calabar noted that the rapidity by which EXXONMobil oil spills spread along the coasts and creeks of the area due to tidal exchange have penetrated and polluted their water ways and caused monumental damages to marine lives, farmland and their environment thereby making life difficult and unbearable.
“Many people have been put out of business because of lack of alternative source of livelihood. This has resulted to hunger and diseases, more school drop-outs and redundancy which have triggered cultism, militancy, sea-piracy, kidnapping and other social vices, thus, posing insecurity to lives and property in the area.
“Succinctly put, we have suffered enough detriment of reported and unreported oil spillage at our former and new location for years now. For all these, we are yet to feel any intervention that could assuage the untold hardship imposed on the affected communities of Bakassi Local Government Area”, the people lamented.
They therefore appealed to the management of ExxonMobil to do justice by expediting action on the payment of what they described as the unduly delayed compensation claims based on valuations submitted by their consultant/valuer, Messrs Family Real Estate Investment Limited on their behalf to ameliorate their sufferings.
The people said oil spill incidences have devastated their lives since 2010 with the recent ones occurring on November 18, 2012, December 16 and 19, 2012 noting that compensation claims based on damages arising from the said previous incidence in favour of the affected individuals, interest groups, communities and clans submitted to EXXONMobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited through their consultant were yet to be paid and so urged EXXONMobil to do something urgently to address the situation.
Members of the Bakassi Rivine Communities also expressed displeasure over the way and manner payment of the 1998 Idoho Oil Spillage compensation claims were handled as the affected individuals, groups, communities and clans names were omitted in the schedule used for payment of claims.
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