Businessman and NDC Governorship candidate Chief Barr. Dumo Lulu-Briggs, has called for an immediate and coordinated response to the unfolding environmental emergency in Bille, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, describing the situation as a grave public safety, public health and livelihood crisis.
In a receny statement on the Bille Environmental Emergency,” Lulu-Briggs expressed deep concern over the reported environmental hazard affecting the riverine community, emphasizing that the incident extends beyond an environmental complaint to a humanitarian emergency requiring urgent intervention.
He sympathized with families, fishermen, women, children and community institutions whose health, water sources, safety and means of livelihood may have been impacted, stressing that no resource-bearing community should be left to face fear, uncertainty and silence while investigations continue.
Lulu-Briggs urged the Federal Government, the Rivers State Government, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Degema Local Government Council, the leadership of Bille Kingdom and all relevant oil and gas operators to immediately establish a coordinated emergency response and source-control mechanism for the affected community.
According to him, the immediate priorities should include protecting lives, providing access to clean water and medical care, making scientific findings publicly available in clear and understandable language, identifying and stopping the source of the hazard, and ensuring proper environmental remediation and compensation where liability is established.
“This moment calls for transparent science, not speculation; practical relief, not political theatre; and accountability, not delay,” Lulu-Briggs stated, adding that the people of Bille deserve accurate information about the incident, the risks they face, the actions being taken and those responsible.
He further argued that the incident should serve as a wake-up call for both Rivers State and the Federal Government to confront the growing dangers posed by ageing and abandoned oil and gas infrastructure across host communities.
Lulu-Briggs warned that abandoned wells, ageing flowlines, obsolete pumps, pipelines and other oilfield assets should no longer remain hidden threats to communities, water systems, livelihoods and the environment.
While refraining from speculating on the technical cause of the incident, he maintained that determining responsibility remains the duty of regulators, scientists and engineers.
However, he insisted that authorities must act swiftly to protect residents, establish the facts transparently, contain the hazard and ensure that those found responsible fulfil their obligations to the affected community.
He concluded by calling for environmental justice and responsible stewardship of Nigeria’s natural resources, declaring that Bille and other host communities must not be left to suffer in silence.
“The people of Rivers State deserve environmental justice, public safety, honest information and responsible stewardship of the resources taken from their land and waters,” he said.
