The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is yet to shut down its facility in Sangama Community in Bonny Local Government Area in Rivers State which experienced gas leakage one month after.

With the facility still oozing out gaseous substances suspected to be methane and natural gas liquids (NGLS) such as ethane, propane, butanes, and pentanes, which are considered injurious to human health, the surrounding environment remain endangered.

A visit by Kristina Reports to Sangama Community revealed that the inhabitants had to flee from exposure to such hazardous gas, which has continued to flare for a month now.

Natives of adjoining communities to Sangama such as Georgekiri, and Polokiri, amongst others lamented to Kristina Reports that the situation was a clear demonstration of the monstrosity of NPDC for leaving the gas to be flaring for over 30 days since it was reported.

Speaking at a joint investigation visit (JIV), a staff of the NPDC, Roland Brown stated that the leakage detected in Well 6 located in Sangama on August 16 and September 3, 2022, were caused by third party interference and not equipment failure.    

The JIV was done by a team comprising the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Department of State Service (DSS), Nigerian Navy, Bonny Environment Consultants Committee (BECC) and Sangama Community.

Brown said preliminary observations carried out by the company revealed that the gas head in well 6 was tempered with prior to the leakage, stressing that the NPDC has an ongoing policy of maintaining her facility often to avoid such leakages.

He said it is believed, therefore, that the equipment was tempered with, dispelling fears that the gas emitted from the facility was harmful, adding that, in fact, it was environmentally friendly.

On their part, representatives of Sangama Community on the JIV unanimously rejected the position of the NPDC, insisting that the incident was caused by equipment failure occasioned by corrosion on the gas head that resulted in the leakage.

Wondering why the NPDC will seek to absolve itself of blames even when the ecosystem has been polluted and the lives of Sangama people hazarded, the Sangama Community representatives called on the relevant authorities to do the needful as attempts to do otherwise will be viewed seriously.

The JIV was declared inconclusive until pertinent issues raised during the exercise were resolved.

But in a dramatic twist, some of the stakeholders were said to be jostling for inducements from the company with a view to signing the JIV form aligning with the company’s position.

On the part of the Bonny component of the JIV, a source, who preferred anonymity, hinted Kristina Reports that preferences were made at the last minute on who should attend and who should not attend a JIV close-out meeting in Port Harcourt. Same as Sangama Community, where the Youth Leader, Iyalla John-Jumbo was replaced with another youth from the community.

When contacted over insinuations that he was angry with the youth leader of the community for involving the Bonny Local Government and the Press in the JIV, the Chief and Head of the John-Jumbo Community, owners of Sangama Community, Se-Alabo Charles John-Jumbo denied it, saying there was no youth leader in the community known to him.

“It is not true that I am angry with Iyalla for involving the government and the Press. I sent Felix because he brought the information about the meeting to me. There is no youth leader in John-Jumbo House known to me right now.”

Curiously, the Electoral Committee Chairman of the election which produced the Iyalla John-Jumbo led executives, Nimi John-Jumbo expressed a contrary view to his Chief, saying that the leadership of the chieftaincy house oversaw the electoral process which took place in 2020.

In an interview with Kristina Reports, the Eleco Chairman informed that Iyalla John-Jumbo and Felix John-Jumbo aspired for the Youth Leader’s position but after screening, the Department of State Services (DSS) disqualified Felix from contesting thus leaving Iyalla to emerge unopposed.

He further informed that after their inauguration, the new youth executives were presented to the Chief in his house in Bonny, and since 2020 there has been no contest whether legal or traditional against the leadership of Iyalla John-Jumbo.

A concerned indigene of the community, who preferred anonymity, averred that the whole drama surrounding the JIV was “about collecting money from the company to shut their mouth and pretend nothing happened. I don’t know how much was promised them but there has been this in-fighting over who will go to Port Harcourt and who will not go”.  

Incidentally, it was Iyalla John-Jumbo, who raised the alarm about the gas leak and the failure of NPDC to take measures to contain the incident.