The Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Engr Samuel Nwanosike, has said that for the battle against oil bunkering activities to be won, it must be fought from the source.
Nwanosike made this known, last Monday, when members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Environment paid him a visit in his office, Isiokpo, in order to have a first-hand information on his method of combating the menace.
According to him, “Like I tell people, for us to win this battle, we must hit the snake at the head because if you cut off the tail, the snake will get very wild. And so, we have a plan to say look, all the illegal refineries must go down before you talk about stopping the truckers, because if there is no production, there will be no trucking.
“What we are doing, having done our homework, is that all those areas where we have illegal oil refineries, we clean them out”.
Nwanosike noted that the next stage of the fight was the demolition of the homes of the oil bunkerers.
He said, “And we have taken note of all the perpetrators and their homes. We have marked their homes. This is another phase we are coming into because the laws back us that every proceed gotten from this illegal oil activity, properties identified from these proceeds, will be seized by the council and demolished after clearance from the state government”.
The Ikwerre Council boss added that judicial records of all the proceeds from illegal oil refining have been taken, including those declared wanted by the state government who ran away from their homes for proper action.
“Because we believe that if they don’t have any source of livelihood, after some times when they come back, they may be tempted to come back to such activities again. So, we don’t want to have that experience anymore”, he vowed.
Nwanosike noted that he swung into action as soon as he received a directive from the state government over illegal oil refining by providing a legislative backing to every steps to be taken and constituting a taskforce made up of 17 members, including security agents and civilians, saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the state governor’s directive across the communities of the LGA.
He explained that members of the taskforce do their jobs professionally, adding that most of those caught in the act have been prosecuted while others were awaiting trial.
Nwanosike commended the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, the leadership of Rivers State House of Assembly, and security operatives for the efforts put in the fight against illegal oil bunkering activities.
He, however, called on the general public and personnel of the Nigerian Navy to join in the battle to end illegal oil bunkering activities for the good of everyone.
The Chairman of Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, Hon Dumle Maol, stated that the committee members were in Ikwerre LGA to get first-hand information from the council chairman over his fight against soot and oil bunkering.
He said, “Chairman, like the Clerk said, the House directed that we should visit the 23 local governments in Rivers State on the issue of this soot, a menace that is a big challenge to the state.
“And we are here today to hear from you, first-hand, what you have done as a local government in compliance with the directive of our government.
“We also want to use this opportunity to tell Ikwerre people that in Rivers State House of Assembly, we are solidly behind the decisions of the government led by our governor”.
Maol also used the opportunity to formally invite the chairman of Ikwerre LGA and entire people of the LGA to the public hearing on amendment of the Rivers State Environmental Protection Law, sponsored by the state governor, today, so as to make inputs before passage and assent.
He implored Nwanosike to charge members of his taskforce not to burn recovered products or pour them into the river in order not to further pollute the environment.
On his part, the member representing Ikwerre Constituency at the Rivers State House of Assembly and also a member of the committee, Hon Anslem Oguguo, said that his council chairman was doing excellently well in the fight against soot and oil bunkering activities, saying that he was working in synergy with Nwanosike in taking the LGA to a desired level.
After members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Environment were taken to the Ogbodo illegal oil refining site to see things for themselves, Maol applauded Nwanosike for the practical steps taken so far in tackling oil bunkering activities.
He assured that the Rivers State House of Assembly was behind his actions and would summon the company that owns the pipelines being tampered with to explain why nothing has been done to stop the oil bunkerers.
Other members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Environment who were in Ikwerre LGA, include Hon Christian Ahiakwo, Hon Prince Ngbor, Hon Sam Ogeh, Hon Anthony Soberekom, Hon Lulu Opuende, Hon Nathaniel Owagii, and Clerk of Rivers State House of Assembly, and Barrister Amonia Amaso.

By: Nelson Chukwudi