The Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, has commended Sara-Ama (Dawes Island) Torukongo Community Development Committee, Ogoloma, in Okrika Local Government Area for their good conduct and peaceful approach to issues affecting them.
Rt. Hon. Amachree who presided over the plenary session of the House when the petition written by the Torukongo Community was read by the House Committee Chairman on Land/Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Belema Okpokiri, representing Okrika Constituency on the floor of the House, said the Assembly will ensure that Multinational organizations operating in the State see their host communities as partners in business.
He said Bourbon Inter Oil Nigeria Limited being one of the Multinational organizations in the State has failed in the protection of lives and property in their operational areas.
In the petition, the people said since the operation of Bourbon Inter Oil Nigeria Limited in Sara-Ama (Dawes Island) Torukongo Community, the inhabitants of the area had been facing environmental pollution, destruction of Houses and fishing gears.
According to the petitioners, 1866 houses have been destroyed at the waterfronts within the five years of the company’s operation in Sara-Ama.
They further explained that the communities have not benefited from the operation of Bourbon Inter Oil Nigeria limited, especially in the area of Infrastructural Development and provision of amenities as a way of reducing the hardship and suffering appealing to the State Assembly to intervene in alleviating their problem. ###
