The Oneh-Eh Eleme, King Philip Obele, has blamed the Nigerian Gas Company Limited (NGC) for Thursday’s gas pipeline explosion in Aleto, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, alleging that the company failed to act on an earlier warning from the community.
King Obele, who visited the scene of the incident on Friday, said residents had noticed an unusual noise coming from the pipeline and promptly alerted the company.
Rather than take immediate steps to address the problem, however, the monarch alleged that the company merely erected a barricade and left the area.
“Instead of arresting the situation, they just put a barricade and left. Now, see the result,” he lamented.
The NGC had yet to issue an official statement or respond to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
The monarch appealed to the government to urgently intervene to prevent a recurrence of the incident, which reportedly destroyed property and left several residents injured.
He also called for greater attention to the welfare and development of host communities that accommodate critical national economic assets, lamenting what he described as years of neglect despite their contribution to the nation’s economy.
“Let them consider communities that are the engine house economically to the Federal Government. We are being neglected. It is very bad. No development, no employment, nothing.
“We are the geese that lay the golden eggs. After laying the eggs, they kill us. Pollution is all over. It has caused blindness and cancer all over the area,” the monarch said.
Expressing frustration over the situation, King Obele questioned the benefits accruing to the communities from the economic activities taking place in their area.
“What are we really benefiting? We are not happy. If we do anything now, they will deploy the Army to come and kill us. Let the world see this thing, if it is good,” he lamented.
The pipeline ruptured on Thursday, spewing a mixture of mud and stones over a wide area and reportedly damaging several houses. Residents who fled the scene amid fears of a gas leak were also said to have sustained injuries during the escape.
Although it could not be independently confirmed whether NGC officials had visited the site by Friday, the forceful discharge, which reportedly rose more than 100 metres into the air and spread across an area exceeding 200 metres, had subsided.
Pipeline incidents have become a recurring concern in Aleto, with another gas leak reportedly occurring on the same pipeline about 400 metres from Thursday’s explosion just weeks earlier.
That incident reportedly took several days to contain, raising fresh concerns about the safety of gas infrastructure and the response to reported faults in the oil- and gas-producing community.
The latest incident has renewed calls for urgent safety measures, effective monitoring of pipelines and improved engagement with host communities to prevent further damage to lives, property and the environment.
