NASS urges FG to declare Bille disaster zone over gas leak

National Assembly has tasked the Federal Government to declare Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State an emergency zone following the gas leaks in the area.

NASS also tasked the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to quickly establish medical camps, distribute relief materials and develop evacuation plans for residents in high-risk areas of Bille Kingdom, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

This was as the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, called for the identification, disclosure and remediation of environmental liabilities before oil and gas assets are divested or transferred to new operators.

NASS and the agencies spoke Port Harcourt, yesterday, at the 2026 National Extractives Dialogue (NED), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C), with the tagged “Remediation Before Divestment and Energy Transition: Amplifying the Bille Environmental Crisis.”

The dialogue was focused on persistent gas leaks and reported environmental impacts in Bille Kingdom, where residents have raised concerns over gas emissions affecting waterways, residential areas, drinking wells and livelihoods.

Speaking, the member representing Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Dumnamene Dekor, called on the Federal Government and Rivers State Government to formally declare Bille Kingdom a disaster zone to facilitate emergency funding and urgent intervention.

Dekor, who is the Chairman House Committee on Host Communities, emphasized that the scale of environmental degradation warrants urgent action, noting that residents would have been evacuated if the crisis were occurring in countries with stronger emergency response mechanisms.

The lawmaker charged community leaders, civil society organisations, regulatory agencies and industry stakeholders to set aside political differences and work together to save Bille Kingdom from the ongoing environmental devastation.

He said “Let me call on the federal government, the Rivers State government to formally declare Bille a disaster zone to unlock emergency funding and resources.

“NEMA and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs should establish immediate medical camps, distribute relief materials, and prepare viable evacuation plans for the high-risk parts of the town.

“If it were in other climes, everybody in Bille would have been moved out. I wish to use this opportunity to urge all community leaders, civil society organizations like Spaces for Change and their partners, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders to join hands.”

The lawmaker further urged the Rivers State Government to intensify its intervention, saying the state had a greater responsibility to protect citizens affected by the crisis.

However, the Director-General of NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, assured the community that the agency remained committed to transparently sharing the findings of its investigations and ensuring that appropriate remediation measures followed.

Woke, who was represented by the agency’s Director of ICT/GIS, Dr Yusuf Rigasa, said NOSDRA had conducted several technical investigations into the situation in Bille in collaboration with relevant government agencies.

He noted that the agency’s responsibilities remained relevant during divestment, stressing that changes in ownership and the energy transition should not become avenues for escaping environmental accountability.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said the Bille crisis raised broader questions about how Nigeria manages environmental liabilities when oil and gas assets change hands.

Ibezim-Ohaeri stated residents had for months reported persistent gas emissions, contamination and threats to water sources and livelihoods, stressing that the situation was more than a technical issue as it directly affected the safety, health and economic wellbeing of the people.

She emphasised that the Bille experience provided an opportunity to examine how environmental liabilities could be identified, documented and enforced before ownership or operatorship changed.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, who was represented by the Director, Energy and Mining, Sa’ad Balarabe, said while investors had the right to enter or exit markets, environmental liabilities attached to the assets must be addressed before ownership changed.

Adar said remediation should be a condition precedent to exit rather than an issue left for courts to resolve years after an asset has changed hands.

Adar also stressed the importance of emissions disclosure in Nigeria’s energy transition, noting that NEITI had incorporated greenhouse gas and methane emissions disclosure requirements into its 2022 and 2023 oil, gas and mining audit processes.

He said credible data on environmental performance, remediation spending, community payments and the social and economic impacts of the energy transition would be critical to effective planning and accountability.