The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, has knocked the Federal Government for abandoning Koluama communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, impacted by ocean surge.
It was learnt that the communities – Koluama 1 and 2, are at the risk of being overtaken by the ocean which had taken over a substantial part of the land on which the communities are situated.
It was also learnt that if urgent steps are not taken by the relevant authorities, the entire Koluama 2 community, in particular, might not exist in the nearest future.
The IYC, therefore, called on the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of the Environment to take urgent steps to avert the impending humanitarian and environmental disaster at Koluama 1 and 2, arising from threatening ocean surge.
The group, in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Eric Omare, believed the impending disaster could be averted if proactive steps were taken.
It said, “The situation in Koluama communities is not helped by the abandonment suffered by the people as a result of the decades of oil exploration and exploitation in the area without commensurate corporate social responsibility to ameliorate the environmental hazards suffered by the communities.
“The oil company’s wilful refusal to pay compensation for damages arising from the 2012 gas explosion coupled with the abject poverty in the communities speaks volume on the level of abandonment.
“The IYC is appalled by the insensitivity of the Federal Ministry of Environment to the situation being faced by the Koluama communities despite the fact that the IYC had drawn the ministry’s attention to the situation in June 2014.”
The IYC said the Koluama issue, just like the other environmental crises in the Niger Delta, posed a personal challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan.
“President Jonathan, who is an environmentalist, is very familiar with the problem. We hereby call on him to act now and save the Koluama communities from extinction,” the IYC said.
