By Anietie Akpan
A massive landslide along the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd pipeline in Calabar is threatening the private residence of the Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu and the Ekorinim Community in Calabar Municipality.
The 31 year old pipeline had collapsed about a year ago at the Ekorinim 2 axis by Fidas street following a heavy rainfall threatening some houses that are sitting on the fringes and valleys of the yawning gully .
A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity said, “the collapse of this massive earth along the pipeline crossing the Ekorinim 2 road is putting many houses at danger including that of the governor even though his own is about 200 metres away”.
Another resident, Mr. John Eko said “besides the landslide, underground leaks from the NNPC Ltd pipeline which was buried many years ago when most of the area was swamp forest, is posing serious environmental and health challenges to us.
“The NNPC should come and remove the pipeline . It has outlived its usefulness. As you can see Ekorinim community has grown with lots of development and the pipeline now tears through. The water from our boreholes are polluted with benzene as a geophysics study we carried out has confirmed this. Personally I have dug four boreholes in my compound but they are all bad”.
Eko charged the NNPC Ltd “to come and remove the pipeline and build a jetty or use one near the tank farm which is just by the Calabar river”.
Commenting on the landslide incident, the General Secretary of the Ekorinim Town Council, Prince Emmanuel Ekpo Edet Bassey, blamed the NNPC Ltd for abandoning the community saying, “there is negligence on the part of NNPC. We have made recommendations severally to them but nothing has been done”.
He said the community observed that construction or reclamation of the landslide area started last year but for months now the place has been abandoned and gradually erosion through extreme weather conditions is gradually eating closer the houses widening the damage.
“This is not in the best interest of the community as it can create more problems”, Bassey said adding that, “the gully keeps eating wider and deeper and buildings and the entire community are at risk.
As a community leader, I am urging the NNPC to come and put the place in order as overtime houses there and beyond will be swallowed if not checked”.
On pollution, he said, “underground water pollution is affecting us because our boreholes water in that area of Ekorinim near the Army jetty are contaminated with benzene. We did some survey and testing and this was confirmed but NNPC is paying deft ears. We have even reported the matter to National Oil Spill Dictation and Response Agency (NOSDRA) but so far nothing positive has happened since their visit ”.
He said, “there is total negligence on the part of NNPC Ltd. There is no corporate social responsibility, no royalties , no jobs, contracts and scholarships. They no longer call for meetings with the community”.
Bassey said the about five kilometre pipeline was built as far back as 1994 when Ekorinim was largely forest and now the best option is to remove it because you can not have a pipeline tearing through a heavily populated community most especially when there is a very good alternative of getting a jetty near the tank farm.
“Removing the pipelines from the Obutong end of the jetty to the tank farm at Esuk Utan will be better for us so that we can be free of underground water pollution and other environmental health hazards. Besides we can use our land in the area for other economic purposes.
“Similarly, the NNPC too will benefit. It will cut costs of maintenance and constant shortages and will make them environmentally friendly. This will be a win win situation”.
Top officials at the NNPC Depot declined to comment the matter but referred Pillar Today to the NNPC Ltd headquarters in Abuja.
The sources further revealed that the NNPP tank farm at Esuk Utan has been abandoned or shut down just like many others in the country.
“What is happening now is that the pipeline has been handed over to Energy petroleum and they are the ones in charge now. For over two years the tank farm has not been functioning. Criminals and vandals are now tempering with the facilities there.
“All products now are being offloaded at Mainland jetty into their tank farms as this place is not functioning”.
