Environmental rights activist and Executive Director of the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Center (YEAC), Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, has warned against attributing the recent explosion on the Trans-Niger Delta Pipeline in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State, to the ongoing political crisis in the region.
In an interview with the Daily Post, Fyneface attributed the explosion to equipment failure rather than political unrest and urged against speculating about ethnic tensions or sabotage being the primary cause.
Fyneface pointed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Shell, which operate the pipeline, as responsible for maintaining the aging infrastructure.
He explained that the pipelines, which have been in place for over sixty years, are increasingly prone to failure.
“These pipelines have been laid for over sixty years, and they are bursting and deflating like balloons when there is heavy pressure transporting crude oil to the export terminal in Bonny,” he said.
Fyneface noted that the lack of maintenance on these pipelines has contributed to their deterioration, making them more susceptible to explosions and spills.
The activist also dismissed claims that the explosion was connected to the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, particularly threats from youths who had warned of sabotaging pipelines due to ethnic tensions between the Ikwerre and Ijaw ethnic groups.
“Ogoni land does not belong to either the Ikwerre or Ijaw ethnic nationalities,” Fyneface emphasized, highlighting the regional dynamics at play in the ongoing political dispute. He made it clear that while the political tensions are real, they were not the cause of the explosion.
Fyneface further clarified that whether the explosion was caused by equipment failure or sabotage would ultimately be determined by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). He called for a thorough investigation to ascertain the exact cause and prevent future incidents.
Naija News reports that he also pointed to the regular occurrence of oil spills and pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta, noting that any period without these incidents should be regarded as a rare moment of celebration.
“Any week or month that passes without these two occurrences is a time for celebration,” he quipped, underscoring the severity of the environmental damage caused by these incidents.
Looking ahead, Fyneface warned that the deteriorating state of the region’s infrastructure, compounded by the ongoing divestment by multinational oil companies, would likely lead to more pipeline failures, explosions, and oil spills.
He added, “A lot of these things have been happening, and more are still going to happen because a lot of these pipelines are already bad, already weak. And divestment is going on, where the multinational oil companies are handing over these facilities to indigenous companies who even lack the technological capacity and finances to run them.
“So, we are going to have more explosions of this nature, more equipment failures of this nature, and more oil spills in the future because the system has not been maintained the way it ought to be.”
