The Senate also urged the federal government to introduce pollution tax on those involved in economic sabotage by engaging in illegal refining of crude products in oil producing areas of the country.
It also urged the federal government to institute pollution tax which can be scientifically measured and the proceeds there from to part finance the cleaning of the environment and provide medical care to the affected communities.
These were part of resolutions reached by the Senate on a motion titled, “curbing soot’s particulate droppings, health hazards concerns and economic sabotage by illegal refining of crude products in Rivers State,” sponsored Senator George Thompson Sekibo, along with seven other lawmakers.
Sekibo informed in his motion that droppings of unidentifiable sooty particulates in Rivers State, suspected to be after effects of incomplete crude refining process, has taken a more dangerous dimension, and if not addressed immediately will endanger lives in the location.
According to the lawmaker, an environmental audit due to the degradation of the environment has never been carried out since the commencement of the exploration and exploitation activities in the area which lasted for over 60 years.
He lamented that the attendant effect has left the contaminated environment “without hope of remediation.”
Senator Sekibo expressed worry that, “the sooty particulate substances dropping in the State is becoming too visible that one cannot stay outdoors without receiving drops of them on his body.
“It has become more worrisome that they are seen on bedspreads in bedrooms, worktops in kitchens, chairs and other materials in houses, meaning that they are entering through every available crevice into inner spaces of buildings as the wind carries them.”
The lawmaker from Rivers East senatorial zone stated further that, “residents in Rivers State have noticed lots of these sooty particulates settling in their nasal tracts, which has occasioned cleaning of their nostril several times in the day.
He said the people are, “Concerned further that the amount of these particulates being inhaled daily by Nigerians resident in the State cannot be estimated just as the after-effects of their inhalation have not been determined.
“The people are also disturbed that the sooty particulates are dropping on water bodies, farmlands and whatever is left open under the sky, which is detrimental to human health, as residents in the area are exposed to consumption of harvests from, both the seas and the lands as well as drinking rainwater and water from streams and rivers”, Sekibo said.
He observed that the recent outbreak of difficulty in breathing caused by congestion of nasal tracts of many residents in Rivers State could be linked to the epidemic.
He added that, “this may be the cause of the recent cases of deaths without noticeable ailments in many towns of the state.”
The lawmaker warned that the situation had the potential to snowball into a national emergency if not nipped in the bud.
Accordingly, the Senate in a six-point resolution, urged the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to note that there is an impending environmental danger Rivers State and its environs orchestrated by illegal refiners and crude oil thieves.
The Senate urged President Muhammadu Buhari to audit security agencies who are involved in this national sabotage and for them to be sanctioned appropriately according to the laws of the country.
By Chidi Ekpewerechi
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