Oil bearing communities in Rivers State have appealed to oil multinationals operating in the country to provide for them social amenities similar to that which is obtainable in their operational bases.
Chairman of the Association of Host Communities of Rivers State, Mr. Herbert Awortu, in an interview with The Tide, expressed regrets that after many years of hosting oil multinationals, the host communities are still faced with the challenges of basic infrastructural amenities.
Awortu noted that members of the host communities lived a life of misery in spite of their huge contributions to the nation’s oil wealth.
He disclosed that the host communities in the state had taken steps to reduce cases of pipeline vandalization and youth restiveness in oil producing communities.
According to him, “taking into cognisance that Rivers State is the petroleum hub of Nigeria, oil pipeline vandalism has been reduced and brought to its barest minimum, thereby curbing youth restiveness in oil producing communities”.
He said that only an atmosphere of peace would “provide a platform through which people from oil and gas host communities may interact and play a positive role in all matters affecting their social and economic well-being”.
Awortu called for partnership between the government, oil companies and other agencies to provide infrastruc-tural and human capital development for the oil bearing communities.
On his part, a member of Bogor community in Gokana Local Government Area of the state, Justice Gokana, called on the state government to take necessary measures that would compel the oil multinationals to take responsibilities for the cleaning up of their polluted lands.
He noted that following incessant oil spills and pollution caused by several years of oil exploration in the community, farmlands could no longer produce high yield.

Tonye Nria-Dappa