On Thursday, residents of the Biseni clan, Yenagoa local government area in Bayelsa, blocked the House of Representative Ad Hoc Committee on Oil Spills and Remediation from performing their functions.

The people barricaded the only access road to the oilfield operated by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company.

The action prevented the committee members, led by Amiru Tukur, to inspect the site.

The ruler of Biseni Kingdom, King Akani, and other protesters stressed that until their demands, including the provision of jobs and basic social amenities, were met, the access road would remain blocked.

Also, Warder Benjamin, spokesman for Okordia Central Youth Council, however, berated the operators of the oilfields and delay in remediation of the environment.

Mr Benjamin appealed to the lawmakers to ensure that companies take responsibility for their failures.

He noted that it took Agip more than one year to begin remediation of the polluted site, a development that adversely impacted the environment.

However, the lawmakers, who had visited some sites in the nearby Kalaba community, were turned back in the Biseni area by the angry protesters.

The protesters, made up of women and youths, decried the high level of neglect meted out to the community over the years by oil companies operating in the area, the federal and state governments.

On Tuesday, the Tukur-led ad hoc committee visited Governor Douye Diri to intimate him of their mission to visit the oil spill-impacted communities for a first-hand assessment.

(NAN)