The House of Representatives Committee on South-South Development Commission has called for immediate and concrete steps to end the prolonged gas seepage in Bille Community, Rivers State, and resolve the oil spill affecting Odidi Federated Community in Delta State.
Committee Chairman Hon. Julius Pondi made the demand on Thursday during a stakeholders’ engagement on the Bille incident and a legislative hearing on the Odidi spill in Abuja. He said both crises have subjected residents of the oil-producing communities to extended environmental damage and economic hardship, insisting that affected people need practical interventions rather than endless probes.
Pondi noted that the committee’s concern over Bille sharpened after a July 30, 2026 meeting with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). Officials confirmed the seepage has lasted about nine months. “It is unacceptable for an incident of this magnitude to persist for so long without a clear, time-bound and effective resolution strategy,” he said.
Bille, a fishing community, has seen livelihoods, food security, household incomes and schooling disrupted. Pondi stressed that the meeting aimed to establish facts, review actions taken so far, identify obstacles and agree on measurable solutions. He expected detailed updates from operators, NUPRC, NOSDRA and other agencies, alongside input from community representatives.
On the Odidi spill, the committee will examine when it occurred and was reported, its cause, containment efforts, the scale of environmental harm, remediation progress and reasons for its persistence. Pondi pledged a fair, evidence-based process focused on accountability and lasting fixes.
He linked the two cases to wider environmental and developmental pressures in the South-South, where host communities continue to shoulder the costs of resource extraction despite the region’s contribution to Nigeria’s oil and gas economy. “The wealth derived from the natural resources of the Niger Delta must not come at the unacceptable cost of the health, livelihoods and future of its people,” he said.
NOSDRA Director Dr Yusuf Rigasa told the session that tests confirmed hydrogen sulphide, methane, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide in Bille, Degema Local Government Area. Investigators found multi-point subsurface gas bubbling at several sites, including the premises of the Government Primary and Secondary School, which has since been abandoned. Bubbling was also recorded in waterways and mangrove areas.
An air-quality survey on December 6, 2025, across 19 stations showed levels above regulatory limits. Hydrogen sulphide produces a rotten-egg odour, while methane is highly flammable. Samples taken on December 16, 2025, and analysed in NOSDRA’s laboratory revealed elevated total petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater, surface water and sediment.
Rigasa said the agency’s technical briefing to the Minister of Petroleum Resources pointed to a probable biogenic source from organic matter breakdown, though a hydrocarbon origin has not been ruled out. No oil and gas operator has been linked to the seepage. NUPRC reported no pipelines in the immediate area, and a reservoir survey is ongoing. “What we can confirm for the House is that the air, the groundwater, the surface water and the sediment in the swampy areas in that village, they are all polluted,” he said.
Chief Luckyman Egbila, Secretary-General of the Bille Kingdom Chiefs Council and Opu Gbolo III of Ancient Bille Kingdom, said the seepage began on November 6, 2025, when women harvesting periwinkles noticed bubbling in the mangrove. The community alerted authorities, prompting NOSDRA visits and later trips to Abuja after local responses proved inadequate. Residents still lack a clear cause or permanent fix.
Fishing has become difficult because of ongoing bubbling in mangrove zones, and drinking water sources are contaminated. Some dugout wells are affected and air quality has worsened. The Rivers State Government provided N100 million for food and medical outreach, but Egbila described it as insufficient. Pupils have been moved from the primary school over emission fears. He called for urgent potable water, an upgraded primary health centre with resident doctors, and a lasting solution to the seepage.
Pondi assured the communities that the House would maintain oversight and push relevant institutions for action so that resources in the South-South are developed responsibly and environmental incidents receive prompt responses.
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