Ibeno Community Demands $100 Million Compensation from Mobil for Oil Spillage
Residents of the Ibeno community in Akwa Ibom have demanded a 100 million dollars annual fee from Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited as compensation for environmental degradation in the area.
The Paramount Ruler of Ibeno Local Government Area, Chief Effiong Archianga, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Saturday at Ibeno, saying the fee would serve as compensation for oil spill during exploration and exploitation, which had polluted rivers in the community and endangered the lives of the people.
“During exploration and exploitation, oil will not fail to spill. Mobil should be compelled by relevant stakeholders to pay mandatory fees to Ibeno annually for environmental hazard.”
“We are inhaling gas, we are inhaling oil spill which is not good for our health; oil spillage had destroyed aquatic lives. Mobil should pay us for environmental hazard, so that even when the oil spills to our rooms, we will not talk.
“We do not even have aquatic live preservation in Ibeno, the water we drink is contaminated, and now people’s lives are at risks.”
Archianga also called on the government and relevant stakeholders to urgently address the effects of oil spill in core oil communities in the country.