(Ecofin Agency) - Communities affected by oil spill in Niger Delta have given the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) a seven-day ultimatum to provide cleanup, relief materials and compensation for the affected area or activities at the Escravos pipeline will be shut down.

The spill, which was reported to have begun on August 17 and lasted for two months, affected communities including Ikpokpo, Tejubor, Okpelema, Opuede, Opuede-Zion, Opuedebubor, Meka-Ama, Oto-Gbene, New Jerusalem Zion, Mala-Gbene, Atanba, Okerenkoko-Gbene, Oporoza federated communities, Gama-Zion and Azama communities, amongst others. Spills from blown-up or faulty pipelines have prompted an insurgency in the Niger Delta region, where militants are demanding for a greater share of oil revenues and a cleaner environment.

The communities in a statement said that the NNPC operated pipeline which runs from Escravos to the Warri refinery has been spilling crude oil since it broke on August 17 in Delta state, Kitco news reports.

“Clean up the impacted communities, provide relief materials and pay adequate and fair compensation to the communities and people. If the demands are not met in seven days, we would have no other option than to shut down the Escravos to Warri trunk line,” traditional rulers of the Gbaramatu Kingdom said, accusing NNPC of failing to renovate the pipeline even with the constant warnings of a massive spill.

Anita Fatunji