NEMA Distributes Relief Materials to Southern Ijaw Communities Affected by Oil Spill

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has distributed relief materials to Olugboboro, Olugbobiri, Tebidaba and Okoron-Ama Communities in Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State to mitigate the adverse impacts of the recent crude oil spillage in the area which affected aquatic, economic and human lives and inflicted an untold hardship on the people which crippled their livelihood.

This gesture followed Hon. Engr. Rodney Ambaiowei’s July 23, 2024, motion in the floor of Nigeria House of Representatives, highlighting the need to contain the oil spill at Olugboboro Community from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company facility, thereby preventing further environmental degradation.

Hon. Rodney conveyed his sincere appreciation to NEMA’s Director General, Zubaida Umar, represented by South South Zonal Coordinator, Babatunde Adebiyi, for the timely delivery of relief materials in response to his motion regarding the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba flow station spillage impacting Olugboboro and surrounding areas.

He thanked NEMA on behalf of his Constituents and Bayelsa State Governor, Sen. Douye Diri. Additionally, Hon. Rodney extended appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas for their attention to Southern Ijaw’s plight.

While distributing relief materials to community leaders, he emphasized equitable distribution across all affected communities, prioritizing Southern Ijaw’s unity above party affiliations.

Speaking on behalf of the affected communities, Hon. Basil Kenbo, Technical Adviser to the Governor of Bayelsa State on Federal Programs Coordination, commended Hon. Rodney for his remarkable initiative, describing it as a first-of-its-kind gesture. He also acknowledged NEMA’s prompt intervention.

Dr. Ayogoi Simeon, SEMA’s Director of Information and ICT, praised the federal lawmaker, for his swift action and motion, which enabled NEMA to provide assistance to vulnerable communities. He assured Hon. Ambaiowei that rigorous due diligence would be undertaken to ensure fair distribution of relief materials to each community.

Relief materials distributed comprised bags of rice, bags of garri, cartoons of spaghetti, cartons of vegetable oil, cartons of tomato paste, cartons of seasoning cube, bags of Iodized salt, cartons of 3 in 1 beverages, mosquito nets, blankets, cartons of toilet soaps, cartons of detergents, plastic buckets and other essentials.