•Brass LNG abandoned
•LG chair cries out, blasts Minister of Environment

By Samuel Oyadongha

BRASS — THE oil and gas island, Brass, off the Atlantic coast in Nembe, Bayelsa State, hosting one of the nation’s crude oil export terminals, Brass Oil Export Terminal and Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, project, is being threatened by ocean surge.

•Hon Bina Bello, Chair, Brass LGA, Bayelsa

Chairman of Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa East senatorial district, Hon Bina Bello, who disclosed this in an interview with NDV, also lamented that the Federal Government has abandoned the money-spinning LNG project.

He said the people of the area were racing against time and if urgent measures were not taken, the area would face extinction.

The chair said the council had taken some steps to contain the rampaging ocean, but the resources required to tackle the magnitude of work were beyond the local administration and lamented the neglect by the by government.

Ridiculous! Fertilizer firm takes over Brass LNG

His words: “It is unfortunate to note that the Brass LNG is a sad story. A fertilizer company has taken over 70 per cent of the Brass LNG. It is not known to the public, but as indigenes and stakeholder, we know what is happening. The federal government is not serious with the Brass LNG project.”

The local government boss added: “This is a project that will benefit a lot of Bayelsa indigenes and Nigeria as a nation. The LNG project is an abandoned project. I have met with the top management staff to see if we can revive it. It is not in their power to do. It is left for the federal government to give them the go ahead to make it work. It is not in the hands of the state government, but the Federal Government. Our gas resources in Brass are being wasted.”

Slams Minister of Environment

According to him: “It is sad that a local government council area that producing over 35 per cent of oil resources from Bayelsa State is left to suffer, when the Minister of Environment came visiting Brass local government area, I pointed it out to her that she should not have come by air with helicopter.

“For her to fly into Brass with a helicopter, she has made the first mistake because her coming was to see the environmental impact of oil exploration in the area.

Based on her job as a minister of environment, she should have come by boat. I pleaded with her that I would have provided the security and boat to take her on a ride on water from Yenagoa, and then, she will understand the environment challenges and the impact of the oil spillages in the state.

“We told her that she would not understand the impact with her movement in a helicopter into Brass local government council. Maybe after one or two visits to selected places, she may hold a contrary view on the damage and problems facing the people.”

Erosion menace

Continuing, he pointed out: “We pointed it out that as a council; we are doing a massive project in Brass, I live in Brass and I know what the people are going through. The lives of people in Brass concern me, and as the chief security officer, I will not let my people down.

“Erosion is one of our challenges. We are facing the worst environmental challenges. This is a project, NDDC, Shell and Federal Government needs to partner with the state and local government to carry-out a shore protection.

“In my own little way, I informed her that I have informed the Bayelsa governor that Brass communities are facing threat of extinction. That is because we are directly facing the Atlantic Ocean, erosion is a great challenge. The State governor in his wisdom had warned us not to go near a project as huge as shore protection because we must not start what we cannot finish. It is not a project for local government councils,” he said.

Hon Bello also pointed out: “Shore protection is a project that the Federal Government needs to come on. But the governor is not there, I am there, I am with my people, though he is our father, I pleaded with him that something needs to be done and all the needed support was given to me to carry out the pilling (shore protection).

“In the history of local government in Nigeria, no local government council has embarked on shore protection project. Brass is the first that that has done it. We are not just saying it, we are doing it. Brass is in Bayelsa, Bayelsans should go to Brass and see what we are doing. We pointed out all these to the minister of environment because it is the federal government duty,” he said.