Save Us From Flood – Bonny Residents Send SOS to NLNG, ExxonMobil, Renaissance, JBN, Other IOCs

Residents of Bonny Island in Rivers State have called out to the international oil and gas companies (IOCs) to come to their aid as the Local Government lacks the capacity to handle the challenge of flooding in the area.

This plea was expressed in different interviews with newsmen in Bonny during the past week at diverse locations affected by the flood.

A shop owner along the Akiama Road, Chinedu Ogbonna lamented that the flood flowing by his shop has been swamping his goods, thus preventing his customers from accessing his shop, saying that he cannot quantify the loss he has incurred so far. 

A resident of Abalamabie Road, Ngozi Chiamaka said the density of the daily rainfall in Bonny Island is at the core of the flooding debacle, appealing to the multinational and other companies to come to the rescue of residents by supporting the government to address the flooding challenges being faced in the area.

For Kalanne Jumbo, both her house and place of business has been severely affected, thus rendering her helpless, calling on the government and companies to help and alleviate the suffering of the people of Bonny.

Also speaking, Reuben Longjohn stated that it has been a harrowing experience for him and his family every time it rains as their home is drenched in water due to the flooding, calling on the companies in Bonny to assist the government to ameliorate their suffering.

Lamenting the debilitating impact of the flood on his shop, Sunday Ekanem said patronage has dwindled due to reduced access to his shop, pointing out that this has also impacted on his business, appealing to the IOCs to help the local government to obviate the challenge.  

In other areas visited by the newsmen, such as Abalamabie Road, Ukpo Avenue, Hospital Road, Shell Pipeline Road and Moore Jackson Road, there instances of blockage of natural drains, building on government approved water channels, and refuse clogging the drains.

Speaking, Chairman of the Technical Committee on Drainage, Flood Management, and Control, Dr Fubara Dan-Jumbo thanked “the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, Amasenibo Hon. Abinye Blessing Pepple, who on resumption heard the cries of the people and set up this technical committee”.

He, however, wondered “how on earth the NLNG would run pipes for water, made a road to access the water facilities but forgot to do drainages on both sides of the road; that act shows complete negligence to the implementation of EIA”.

“We are calling on the IOCs to immediately get back on board by following the EIA report before the project and the post-EIA including the implementation of the Bonny Masterplan before the entire Bonny gets submerged in water”.

He stressed that the presence of multinationals and other companies on the island has put tremendous pressure on amenities thus amplifying the flooding challenges being faced in the area, noting that it is imperative that they support the Local Government to address the debacle.

He stated that an informed assessment of the flooding issue shows clearly that the cost of redesigning the drainage network, emplacing different types of drainages and linking them to water bodies, as well as desilting blocked ones is humongous, aside the need for technical expertise, adding that it is time for the companies to show that they are good corporate citizens in Bonny. 

On her part, a member of the Committee, Alali Irimagha stated that strident efforts would be made to address the ‘very terrible situation’, lamenting, however, that the Bonny Local Government alone cannot carry the burden.

She called on the NLNG, ExxonMobil, Renaissance, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Other IOCs, Seplat Plc, Renaissance Africa, BelemaOil, Evomec, megastar, and Julius Berger, among others to come to the rescue of residents of the area by supporting the Local Government to deliver on its mandate.  

Asserting that the facilities in the Local Government Area have been overstretched due to the inflow of people working for the IOCs, the former lawmaker called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to urgently reach out to Bonny residents with relief materials and palliatives, stressing that some residents have evacuated their homes.