Residents of Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Council of Rivers State have appealed to the Federal and State Governments to urgently address persistent gas seepage and methane emissions threatening their water sources, livelihoods and health.
The appeal came as the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) distributed food and non-food relief materials to the affected community following reports of contamination of underground water, rivers and local wells.
Its Managing Director, Ms. Usoro Akpabio who was represented by the Commission’s Executive Director, Social Services and Human Capital Development, Preye Aganaba, initiated the intervention.
Speaking on behalf of the Bille Council of Chiefs, its Chairman, Chief Bennett Okpoke, said residents had endured the environmental crisis for a considerable period, with serious consequences for their daily activities and means of livelihood.
While appreciating the Commission for responding to the community’s plight, Okpoke urged relevant government authorities and environmental regulatory agencies to go beyond the distribution of relief materials and find a permanent solution to the gas seepage.
He described the SSDC’s visit as a demonstration of solidarity but insisted that the community needed urgent intervention to halt the environmental threat.
In her remarks, Akpabio assured the residents that the Commission would sustain its support for Bille, describing the community as an important economic hub in Rivers State and the South-South region.
She said the environmental crisis had implications beyond property damage, noting that it had disrupted businesses, threatened food security, displaced families and deprived residents of their sources of livelihood.
“The plight of the people of Bille is of great concern to the Commission. Their recovery remains a priority, and we want to assure them that they will not be overlooked in our developmental agenda,” she said.
Akpabio disclosed that the Commission provided 86 categories of food and non-food items, including rice, beans, garri, noodles, vegetable and palm oils, mattresses, mats, wrappers, mosquito nets, buckets, sanitary pads and baby diapers.
She said the intervention was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Commission to provide assistance to vulnerable communities and
accelerate development across the six South-South states.
The SSDC boss added that the intervention was intended to complement the efforts of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers State Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
NEMA Head for Bayelsa and Rivers States, Dr. Chidi Ogundu, said the agency had approached the SSDC over the environmental emergency and commended the Commission for its response.
Ogundu disclosed that an Environmental Impact Assessment had been conducted to determine the extent of the damage and its implications for residents, with the findings indicating significant adverse effects on the community.
He described the situation as a collective responsibility, stressing the need for coordinated intervention to protect residents from further exposure to environmental and health risks.
Ogundu further disclosed that NEMA’s technical team had begun efforts to address the community’s potable water challenges, particularly the contamination of existing water sources.
The relief materials, provided on behalf of the SSDC’s management and board, were formally handed over to the community through NEMA.
The delegation was received by members of the Council of Chiefs representing His Royal Majesty, King Igbikingeri Ngowari Cornelius Herbert, Agbaniye-Jike XVIII.
