{"id":356627,"date":"2026-07-03T01:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=356627"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T11:32:14","slug":"pipeline-explosion-in-abua-odua-lga-chair-calls-for-calm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=356627","title":{"rendered":"Pipeline Explosion In Abua Odua, LGA Chair Calls For Calm"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fresh explosions have hit oil and gas pipelines in Odau Community, in Abua\/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, triggering a major security and\u00a0 environmental crisis that has forced residents to abandon their homes.<\/div>\n
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The first incident occurred\u00a0 along the Kolo Creek \u2013 Rumuekpe crude oil pipelines, operated by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.<\/div>\n
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This was followed by a gas pipeline explosion on the Ogboinbiri \u2013 Obirikom Gas Pipeline, operated by Oando Plc, in the same week.<\/div>\n
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In a statement by the Abua\/Odual Council Chairman, Hon. Owolobi Michael Ofori said\u00a0 the blasts, suspected to be the handiwork of militants, have unleashed persistent gas leakage in the area, raising fears of fire outbreaks and toxic exposure as residents of Odau have largely deserted the community due to the dangerous situation.<\/div>\n
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According to him, some residents of the area have been hospitalised after inhaling the leaking gas, adding that the impact has spread to neighbouring communities, including Obedum, Emirikpoko, and Anyu in Abua\/Odual LGA, as well as Oruma and Ibelebiri in Bayelsa State.<\/div>\n
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Hon. Ofori expressed deep concern over the plight of the affected residents and urged the operating companies to act swiftly.<\/div>\n
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The Council expressed its deepest sympathy to all affected persons and communities and remained gravely concerned about the safety, health, and welfare of residents whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by these incidents.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe call on Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and Oando Plc to immediately deploy all necessary technical and emergency response resources to contain the fires, halt the gas leakage, secure the affected pipeline corridors, and mitigate further environmental and public health risks.\u201d the Council Chairman Said.<\/div>\n
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The chairman also appealed to the two oil firms to provide immediate humanitarian assistance and relief materials to the displaced residents while work continues to restore normalcy.<\/div>\n
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The Council Chairman said he is working closely with security agencies and emergency responders to monitor the situation and coordinate necessary interventions.<\/div>\n
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The Council Boss advised Residents of the Local Government Area to remain calm, cooperate with authorities, and adhere strictly to safety directives.<\/div>\n
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Ofori further called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Rivers State Government, and other relevant bodies to intervene urgently to prevent\u00a0 loss of lives and environmental damage.<\/div>\n
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Hon. Ofori assured that the council remains committed to the protection and welfare of its people and will continue to engage all stakeholders to resolve the crisis.<\/div>\n
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Enoch Epelle<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fresh explosions have hit oil and gas pipelines in Odau Community, in Abua\/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, triggering a major security and\u00a0 environmental crisis that has forced residents to abandon their homes. The first incident occurred\u00a0 along the Kolo Creek \u2013 Rumuekpe crude oil pipelines, operated by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=356627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356628,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356627\/revisions\/356628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=356627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=356627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=356627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}