LASEPA pledges clean up for Lagos oil-polluted community

AMID Premium Motor Spirit (PMS otherwise known as petrol) contamination of underground water in Abule Egba, a Lagos suburb, the authorities have pledged remediation of the polluted sites.

The state’s environmental watchdog – Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) also advised residents of the community to be vigilant and query any activities or persons whose motives seem questionable, for the purposes of protecting themselves.

The general manager, LASEPA, Adebola Shabi, an engineer, who sounded severally at a stakeholders’ forum organized by the in partnership with Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, to discuss possible solutions to the problem.

Discussions at the programme centered on intervention measures to curb the incidence of pipelines vandalization in the area, thus prevent any future occurrence as well as possible mop up exercise to clean up the underground sources of water.

He said: “Civil Defense or the police or government officials for instance cannot come when you don’t notify them. You have your people around such as the Baales. The moment you see strange faces in your area, call. We will then come and harass them. NNPC cannot come all the way from Abuja or we from Alausa to do the monitoring for you. It is you people that will inform us. If you don’t inform us then there will be problems.

In the interim, however, the community has been promised water supply via trucks and tanks under the sponsorship of the Lagos State Government. “We are still meeting with the NNPC on the modalities for the clean up exercise. But definitely it would be done. As for right now, the petrol will still be in their waters. That is why we have promised to start to supply them clean water until the area has been cleaned up. Percolation has already taken place. So, it would be a gradual process. When you have a sandy ground, oil travels fast. It is only when you have the clayish that it restricts the movement. But most of this area is sandy. So, it has gone far,” he stated.

Shabi itemized immediate response necessary to arrest the situation, to come in the order of a geospatial assessment to see how deep the spirit has travelled beneath the earth surface, the remediation proper to clean up the mess and a post impact assessment to ascertain success.

He explained that the situation would take some time to be brought under control because indications are that the seepages have percolated deep into the earth, considering that the area is mostly sandy in nature than clayey. He however assured that the remediation exercise would commence soon.

The chairman of Ojokoro LCDA, Adeleke Ipaye, said that the rate of vandalisation in the area has become worrisome not only because of the potential danger of fire that it poses to the environment but also because it is an economic sabotage.

“The protection of public facilities should be a collective effort of everyone in the society. Therefore, parents and guardians should endeavour to caution their children and wards against willful damages to public facilities in the interest of the citizenry”.

Citing the 2006 explosion, which claimed about 700 lives in the area, he worried that the vandals seem to have forgotten the painful event, thereby putting the community at risk of another such occurrence.

“If you may recall, vandalisation of oil pipeline at the same spot led to the loss of several lives and properties and the agonies are still being felt by the affected families. Also, most residents of Abule Egba have no access to good water, as virtually all the wells and boreholes in the area have been badly polluted by PMS due to the activities of pipelines vandals”.

Notwithstanding government assurances, the residents described a difficult situation that awaits them in the process of taking up the challenge to police their environments by accosting persons of questionable characters and their activities.

They feared that they could be put in danger of being attacked by the criminals whom they said are well equipped with sophisticated machines for their nefarious activities of stealing fuel. They said a case in point is what transpired in Arepo in recent times.

The forum had an impressive turnout of representatives of the Abule Egba community, including over 10 Baales and, leaders of youths and women bodies as well as Community Development Associations (CDAs), the traditional ruler of Abule Egba and several landlords who have petrol in their wells and boreholes. Also in attendance were members of the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) among others.