Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Civil Society Organisations have called for urgent action on gas bubbles largely sighted in Bille Community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The CSOs, including Social Action, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Chikoko Movement, Civil Rights Action, MiiDeekor, Health of Mother Earth (HOMEF), the IYC Eastern Zone, Center for Gender Equity and Sustainable Development, among others, lamented the persistent gas leak that poses grave health, environmental, and safety risks to residents of the area.
The call was made when the CSOs toured several spots in Bille where gas was seen bubbling from the ground, water, and residential wells, as the people of the community urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the area.
Residents disclosed that they first observed signs of the gas leak last year when bubbles began appearing on surrounding water bodies, while fumes emerged from water wells and cracks developed in parts of the community. Investigations later indicated that underground gas was escaping to the surface.
