The lawmaker representing Ogba Egbema Ndoni constituency 2 in the Rivers State House of Assembly Nathaniel Uwaji has decried the hardship faced by the people of Ndoni district as a result of the activities of Sterling Gobal Oil Resources which operates in the area
Uwaji in a chat with journalists said the operations of the company has brought pains to the people of the area including polluting the environment.
According to Hon Uwaji, the company conveys crude oil with large trucks using the Ndoni – Ebocha link road which he said has put the road in bad shape making it inaccessible to motorists
“This company came into the Ndoni district, brought in ships by the River Niger and began to export crude from the area”
“But our major concern is that our people are suffering so much from that operation, a situation where you have 20 trucks lined up at a time conveying crude to the River has done so much damage to the road.
” I don’t think that people would be able to pass that road during the rainy season not to even talk of the pollution their activities have caused to our environment ”
He insisted that the economic lives of the people of the area have been negatively affected.
The lawmaker who during plenary at the house on Tuesday presented a petition written by the councilor representing ward 13 in ONELGA, Mr Amifor Ernest Obi against the activities of the company asked the house to intervene in the plight of the people with a view of ensuring that the company signs a functional Memoranda of Understanding with the community adding that several attempts by the community to reach the company has not yielded fruit
In the petition, Mr Obi lamented that the Ndoni community was at the mercy of hydraulic erosion and has been inflicted with so much pain.
“The River Niger bank sequel to the dredging activities and barge operations is sliding at geometric progression while the road is failing at its own pace”
“At intervals, the truck spill its crude oil product on the road making the manageable part of the road slippery with high invitation to road crashes”
He pleaded with the assembly to prevail on the company to completely undertake the resurfacing of the Ndoni – Ebocha link road, reinstall the shore protection damaged by them, suspend operation until their demands are met and undertake timely repair of the road as well as perform all of its cooperate social responsibilities to globally acceptable standards.
