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Residents of Uzere, a community in Delta State, have raised alarm over an oil spill which has polluted farmlands and water sources, calling on the government and the responsible oil company to urgently contain the damage and provide relief.
Community leaders and residents said the spill has disrupted daily life, threatened livelihoods and raised fears of a looming environmental disaster if urgent intervention is not made.
A resident, Paul Omoyibo, while speaking with News Central, lamented that farming and fishing, the community’s main sources of livelihood, had been severely affected, while residents were increasingly worried about the health implications of prolonged exposure to hydrocarbon emissions.
“Now, both the cassava, fishing, even to breathe itself is very dangerous,” he said, adding that many residents now return from their farms with visible signs of exposure.
He said the community urgently needed government intervention because of the hydrocarbon emissions from the leaking wellhead.
“If urgent step is not being taken, it’s obvious that their life is already at risk. Hence, they are calling on relevant authorities to come to their rescue,” he said.
The Chairman of the Oil and Gas Committee in Uzere Kingdom, Columbus Oguname, acknowledged efforts by the operating company to contain the spill but said the response had fallen short of what was required.
“The company… are trying their best, but it’s not good enough,” Oguname said.
He warned that the community was “sitting on a keg of gunpowder,” noting that the approaching rainy season could worsen the situation if floodwaters mixed with the spilt crude.
“If the flood meets it up right now, it will overwhelm them, overwhelm everybody. It means the entire community will be sacked,” he said.
Oguname stressed that no amount of compensation could replace lives or the displacement of an entire community.
“Whatever anybody can do… they should come and help us. That is the most important thing right now because the life of the community is at stake,” he added.
Also speaking, the Youth Vice Chairman of Uzere Kingdom, Liberty Okwegbe, warned that the spill could permanently destroy the community’s forests, lakes and ponds if it spread further.
“Once it enters inside our bush now, we will not be able to do anything inside the bush again, because including all our lakes, ponds, and everything, they are going to be destroyed,” he said.
Okwegbe said residents could already perceive gas emissions even within the community, reflecting the urgency of the situation.
“We need a rescue to this thing. It’s really costing a lot to us in Uzere,” he said.
Residents appealed to the Nigerian Government, regulatory agencies and the operating company to urgently contain the spill and prevent what they fear could become a humanitarian and environmental crisis.
Six weeks after Heritage Energy’s Well-14 blowout, residents of Uzere in Delta State say the continued release of oil and gas is threatening their health and livelihoods, prompting calls for urgent intervention from the government. @AustinAzu1 reports. https://t.co/UMGHXK1QFn pic.twitter.com/zqfG9n7yXM
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) July 28, 2026
