…As Senate Fact Finding Committee Visits
Sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion on matters of urgent national importance by Senator George T. Sekibo, representing Rivers South East District in the upper chambers, the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan mandated an an-hoc committee headed by Sen. Ibrahim Gabir to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire explosion that sent scores of persons to their early grave recently at the sleepy Kom-Kom Community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Senator Gabir committee on Thursday July 11, 2019 deemed it necessary to visit the site of the petrol pipeline inferno.
On hand to receive the August visitors was the council chairman, Hon. Prince Gerald Oforji, the immediate past Caretaker Committee chairman of the Council, Hon. Ugochukwu Ejiri and other political aids.
The distinguished senator and his team sought answers to a lot of questions especially the possible cause of the explosion. In his response, the Oyigbo counsel boss put the blame of the explosion with its attendant causalities to negligence, sabotage and above all, no accessibility to the scene for possible rescue operation.
Prince Oforji further explained that many innocent persons who went about their daily activities including farmers, fishermen and palmwine tappers were caught in the inferno of Saturday June 8, 2019 otherwise known as “Oyigbo Black Saturday”, stressing that the those who went for the scooping of the spilled oil were small compared to the innocent ones.
He called on the federal and state governments to come to the aid of his people especially those who were not part of the oil thieves and as well find solution to future reoccurrence.
The paramount ruler of Kom-Kom Community, High Chief Azu and the youth leader, Comr. Joseph Ogbonna were also given opportunity to speak on behalf of the deceased families. They submitted in their separate speeches that official neglect on the part of the PPMC/UTM offshore, owner of the facilities was the major case of the incidence as it has taken a long time they serviced or replaced the old pipelines.
The monarch particularly lamented how the Kom-Kom Community has been neglected by the companies operating in their area through its social corporate responsibility and wish the FG will use this opportunity to right the wrongs of the past years by coming to their rescue once and for all.
