Oil spill communities ask for help

Communites affected by recent oil spills have sent urgent requests for help to the state and federal governments, especially for clean drinking water, ‘The Vanguard’ newspaper reported this week. The Umuagu-Unuhu and Ihite-Ude Ofeme communities in the southern state of Abia have suffered oil spills from vandalised and burnt pipelines, most recently in May, the daily reported. The oil has polluted the River Eme, whose water the local population uses. The village chief of the Ihite-Ude Ofome, Emmanuel Ayozie, said that the pollution first happened in October 2000 and more than 10 people who drank from the river suffered various stomach problems, including diarrhoea. The community now depends upon rainwater for its domestic consumption, he said. The communities have asked the state government to sink a borehole or arrange water tankers to supply potable water in the interim, ‘The Vanguard’ said on Monday.