The House of Representatives, weekend, assured Awoye community, in the oil-rich Ilaje Council Area of Ondo State, that the oil company responsible for the recent spillage would be liable to remediate, clean up and compensate the victims.
An oil vessel belonging to Shebah Oil Company, had exploded on February 2, 2022, killing over 10 people on board.
The people of Awoye community had petitioned the Federal Government for remediation, clean-up and compensation.
Consequently, the House of Representatives instituted a panel of enquiry, comprising members from the House committees on Host Communities, Petroleum Upstream and Petroleum Downstream, to investigate the petitions by the communities against the oil companies.
The Chairman, House Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor, led other members to assess the affected areas in the state and interacted with the people on the level of damage to their communities.
The Ondo State government’s delegation, led by the Health Commissioner, Dr Banji Ajaka, had other government officials from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Health in the team
Speaking during the visit, Dekor said: “The team came to get facts and interact with the people living in the area, making moves on how the company responsible for the disaster can be liable to remediate, clean up and compensate the victims.
“From our interaction with the people, we have seen for ourselves and by the grace of God, we will come up with our findings with the view of addressing these problems both for the people and the operators so that there will be a lasting solution.”