Indigenes of the Nembe-Okiori communities in Bayelsa State have raised concerns over the impact of oil pollution on their environment, alleging that years of contamination have led to a sharp decline in seafood resources that once sustained their livelihoods.
The communities, located within the Nembe-Okiori oilfield area, said species such as lobsters, bonga fish, periwinkle and other aquatic resources are becoming increasingly scarce due to pollution of rivers, creeks and mangrove ecosystems caused by oil exploration activities.
Speaking during a three-day leadership training programme organised by Anatolia Energy and Services Limited in Yenagoa, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nembe-Okiori Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT), Chief Isaiah Youngdede, lamented that the environmental degradation had already adversely affected fishing activities, the major source of income for residents.
Youngdede explained that the eight communities that host the Nembe-Okiori oilfield are predominantly fishing settlements situated in waterlogged terrain and are
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