The Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered an investigation into claims that Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, an oil company, ignored oil spills that devastated the B-Dere community in the state’s Gokana Local Government Area. The House expressed concern about the development after the community, through their estate surveyors and valuers, Hamilton Odom & Co., wrote a petition against the company. The B-Dere community is one of the Ogoni communities that has been severely damaged by pollution for several decades due to oil exploration.The Deputy Speaker introduced the petition on the House floor after ESV Hamilton Odom signed it. The House Committee on Public Complaints and Petitions, chaired by Hon. Dr. Enemi Alabo George, received the petition from Speaker Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule. The petition’s community recalls that an oil leak along the 24 Ogale-Bomu Pipeline, which crosses their territory, happened on May 7, 2025. The petitioners clarified that a combined team report from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, which included members from the affected community, determined that equipment failure was the source of the leak.
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