The House of Representatives Committee on the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) has summoned key government agencies, the Rivers State Government and other stakeholders over the lingering gas leak in Bille Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The committee expressed concern over what it described as the slow response to the environmental disaster, warning that the continued gas leak poses serious health, environmental and economic risks to residents.
The lawmakers issued the summons during an interactive session held on Thursday at the National Assembly, directing the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Rivers State Government, Degema Local Government Council and representatives of the Bille Community to appear and work out measures to address the crisis.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Julius Pondi, said the intervention followed concerns over the prolonged gas leak, which he noted had continued for several months without effective containment. He said the committee was particularly worried about the impact of the incident on the health and livelihoods of residents, many of whom depend on fishing, farming and other natural resources for survival.
Pondi said the National Assembly had a constitutional responsibility to ensure that operators in the oil and gas sector complied with environmental laws and safety regulations while protecting host communities from avoidable hazards.
He said the interactive session was aimed at establishing the immediate and remote causes of the gas leak, assessing the adequacy of emergency response efforts and determining whether there were operational or regulatory lapses.
According to him, the committee will also evaluate the environmental, public health, social and economic consequences of the incident as well as the status of compensation, environmental remediation and medical support for affected residents.
‘Our findings will guide appropriate legislative and policy recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents, strengthening institutional accountability and promoting sustainable development in the South-South region,’ Pondi said.
He stressed that the committee’s objective was not to apportion blame but to establish the facts, ensure accountability and recommend practical solutions to improve environmental governance and public safety.
Providing an update, a Director at the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Cyrus Nkangwung, told the committee that the gas leak, first reported on October 25, 2025, was still active.
He described the incident as unusual, explaining that the gas was not coming from any known oil installation but was naturally bubbling from beneath the ground.
Nkangwung said the development had polluted water sources and disrupted farming and fishing activities in the community.
He disclosed that NOSDRA had, in February this year, written to President Bola Tinubu through the Minister of Environment requesting the release of about N3.4 billion to respond to the emergency.
According to him, investigations are still ongoing to determine the exact source of the gas leak.
‘This is not a normal occurrence in the oil industry. What we are witnessing is gas bubbling directly from the ground, and investigations are still ongoing to establish the source,’ he said.
A member of the committee, Hon. Dumnamene Dekor, faulted the slow response to the incident, saying it was unacceptable that residents had continued to live under hazardous conditions nearly nine months after the leak was reported.
Dekor, who also chairs the House Committee on Host Communities, said oil-producing communities should not be left to bear the burden of environmental disasters despite their contributions to the nation’s economy.
‘Those who lay the golden eggs should not continue to suffer for producing the resources that sustain the entire country,’ he said.
Also speaking, a representative of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Joseph Ogunsola, described the Bille gas leak as a novel occurrence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
He said the commission became aware of the incident in February 2026 and had since been working with relevant agencies and stakeholders to determine the source of the leak and develop appropriate remedial measures.
Ogunsola added that the unusual nature of the incident had made it difficult for experts to immediately determine the volume and extent of the gas leakage.