... as gunmen feast on residents
BY RAYMOND OZOJI, Awka
Residents of Ogwuikpele and Ogwuaniocha communities of Ogbaru 2 State Constituency are currently in dire need of help as oil exploration by Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SIPCO) has constituted very serious environmental hazards in the area.
The oil exploration which is done on daily basis in about 5 sites in the host communities have destroyed economic trees, farmlands, contaminated aquatic life as well as polluted air and water without any remediation from SIPCO.
Majority Leader of the Anambra State House of Assembly and member representing Ekwusigo State Constituency in the 8th legislature, Hon. Engr. Ikenna Ofodeme, who spoke exclusively with this journalist in his office at the state assembly complex Awka, said he was part of the team that embarked on oversight duty to SIPCO, only for the lawmakers to discover to their greatest consternation that residents of Ogwuikpele and Ogwuaniocha are suffering on account of operations and activities of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited in the area.
Ofodeme who expressed shock at the level of dilapidations and deplorable conditions of the host communities to the oil company, maintained that insecurity was another big problematic issue in the communities.
He said Ogwuikpele and Ogwuaniocha were in catastrophic situations because there were apparently no social amenities like electricity, roads and others despite playing host to an oil exploration company.
Apart from the blight cast on the host communities, the majority leader also disclosed that Anambra State Government was being shortchanged because from their investigations, the state government was not aware of the oil exploration and there were no records of the amount of crude oil being drilled on daily basis from Anambra state.
According to the lawmaker, oil theft seemed to be the order of the day as pipes have been laid from Anambra to Asaba in Delta State where they discharged the oil where some others were siphoned into vessels and transported to undisclosed destinations.
He said that the company could not account for the oil being drilled in Ogbaru thereby culminating into trillions of naira being lost to illegal explorations where were revenues that would have accrued to the Anambra State Government.
Ofodeme who stated that there was need for further investigations into the operations of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SIPCO), noted that the relevant ministry should dig deep to find out if government was aware of the operations of SIPCO in the state.
He said worst still was that apart from causing environmental health hazards and chasing people out of their homes due to their operations, Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited did not employ any Ogwuikpele or Ogwuaniocha person neither did they employ any Anambra person in the company.
That their employees were Indians, Rivers and Delta States indigenes despite having their base and oil explorations in Anambra State even as he also added that SIPCO has no social responsibility scheme for the host communities where their operations have done more harm than good to the people.