LG boss tasks Agip on equipment

Barely three months after a pipeline caught fire in Idheze community, a similar incident has been recorded in Oleh, another Isoko settlement. Oleh is the headquarters of Isoko South Local Council of Delta State.

The President-General of Oleh Community, Chief James Obeuwou, told newsmen that the facility belongs to the Agip (Eni-NAOC) group, disclosing that a reasonable quantity of crops were lost to the incident.

He said the fire broke out about 1:00 a.m. yesterday, noting that: “A glow lit the sky as if a volcano was erupting in a distance. There was a sound like high-pressured water fall almost like a siren. People living around the area started running for their lives because it was frightening. It was like the world was coming to an end. We have not witnessed anything like this in the community.”

Obeuwou alleged that representatives of the oil company, after entering a mutual agreement with the host community to cordon off the area, later connived with security agents to continue operations.

The council chairman, Sir Ithiako Constantine Ikpokpo, while confirming the inferno, said: The council secretary and Divisional Police Officer (DPO) called me at about 1.30 a.m. that a pipeline had erupted.”

He called on the people to be calm, just as he advised the management of Agip to put its equipment in good shape.