…Urges NEMA to provide necessary relief materials to the people of Bonny Island.

By Henry Umoru

FOLLOWING the mysterious deaths in Bonny Island, Rivers State, the Senate Wednesday mandated its Committee on Health to meet with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

The meeting according to the Senate, the meeting is geared towards receiving a brief from the NCDC on their findings in Bonny for necessary intervention of other relevant government agencies and further legislative action.

At the end of the meeting, the Committee would report back to the Senate within two weeks.

The Senate has also urged the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA to provide necessary relief materials to the people of Bonny Island.

The Upper Chamber has also asked the Senator Ike Ekweremadu led Senate Committee on Environment to meet with National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency,  NOSDRA and other relevant agencies to ensure reduction of marine pollution of all kinds particularly from land-based activities along the Atlantic Shoreline and report the senate within two weeks.

READ ALSO: NLNG spends $30bn on gas plants, infrastructure in Bonny Island

Resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion titled, “Need to intervene in the mysterious deaths in Bonny Island, Rivers State.”

The motion which was sponsored by  Senator Betty Apiafi, PDP, Rivers West, was  co- sponsored by  Senators George Sekibo, PDP (Rivers East)​and Barinada Mpigi, PDP (Rivers South-East)

The Senate has also called on the Federal Government to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny.

The Upper Chamber has also asked the Senator Adamu Aliero, APC, Kebbi led Committee on works to meet with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and other relevant agencies to liaise with Nigerian LNG to use Road Infrastructure Tax Credit against the NLNG’s income tax to enable speedy completion of the Bonny – Bodo road due to dwindling government revenue.

Presenting the motion, Senator Apiafi said that “The Senate: recalls that in the last week of March 2020, there were incidents of large quantities of dead fish around the Bonny-Andoni shores and indeed several other coastal communities along the Atlantic shoreline in the Niger-Delta region stretching from Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta Akwa Ibom and Ondo States;

“Aware that less than 6 weeks later, mysterious deaths have been occurring in Bonny Island in Rivers State and is reported to have claimed about 13 (Thirteen) lives.”

The Senator said that the Senate is “Further aware that officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Health and Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) have collected samples in Bonny Island, Rivers State for testing to determine what is responsible for the strange occurrence which some defined the symptoms to include loss of the sense of smell, taste, fever, weakness, vomiting and stooling;

“Notes that Bonny is home to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), and various multinational oil companies including: Royal Dutch Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Agip and Elf. The high population foreign staff from different countries makes Bonny a high-risk community for COVID 19. Reports have shown that 60% of COVID-19 patients in Rivers State are oil and gas staff;

“Further notes that Bonny Island is a major export point in the oil and gas industry. It hosts the single largest gas investment in the country, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Plant with six (6) trains, and the $10 Billion contract for train seven (7) signed on the 27th of December 2019. Train 7 is expected to raise twenty billion dollar revenue to the Federal Government;

“Observes that despite the significant contribution of Bonny to the national economy as a major revenue source for the Nation, the Island can only be accessed by boats and ferries as there is no link road connecting the island to other parts of Rivers State and Nigeria. The Island also lacks adequate medical facilities;

“Worried that due to the challenge of transportation and communication, it is usually difficult to get help or even access medical facilities in Port-Harcourt or other parts of the Country.

“Further worried that if the health issue is not contained it could affect the residents and workforce of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) as well as the economy of the country and could also spread from there to other parts of the Country especially in this global pandemic.”

Vanguard

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