Businessman and NDC governorship candidate, Chief Barr. Dumo Lulu-Briggs, has called for an immediate and coordinated response to the environmental emergency unfolding in Bille, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, describing the situation as a serious threat to public safety, public health, and the livelihoods of residents.
In a recent statement on the environmental crisis in Bille, Lulu-Briggs expressed deep concern over the reported hazard affecting the riverine community, stressing that the incident goes beyond an environmental issue and has become a humanitarian emergency that demands urgent intervention.
He sympathized with families, fishermen, women, children, and community institutions whose health, access to clean water, safety, and means of livelihood may have been adversely affected. He emphasized that no resource-producing community should be left to endure fear, uncertainty, and silence while investigations are ongoing.
Lulu-Briggs called on 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), the 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 safeguarding lives, providing access to clean water and quality healthcare, making scientific findings publicly available in clear and understandable terms, identifying and stopping the source of the hazard, and ensuring comprehensive environmental remediation and fair compensation where liability is established.
“This moment calls for transparent science, not speculation; practical relief, not political theatre; and accountability, not delay,” Lulu-Briggs said. “The people of Bille deserve accurate information about the incident, the risks they face, the measures being taken, and those responsible.”
He further noted that the incident should serve as a wake-up call for both the Federal Government and the Rivers State Government to confront the increasing 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 deteriorating oilfield assets should no longer remain hidden threats to communities, water bodies, livelihoods, and the environment.
While declining to speculate on the technical cause of the incident, he maintained that establishing responsibility rests with regulators, scientists, and engineers. He, however, insisted that the authorities must act swiftly to protect residents, determine the facts through transparent investigations, contain the hazard, and ensure that those found responsible meet their obligations to the affected community.
He concluded by calling for environmental justice and responsible stewardship of Nigeria’s natural resources, insisting that Bille and other host communities must not be abandoned in times of crisis.
“The people of Rivers State deserve environmental justice, public safety, honest information, and responsible stewardship of the resources extracted from their land and waters,” he stated.