Delta State Deputy Governor, Professor Amos Utuama (SAN) has tasked Chevron Nigeria Limited to take full responsibility and be prepared to pay compensation for the oil spill that devastated fish farms at Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area of the State.

Utuama, who visited the fish farm in company of the State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Bello Orubebe and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Victor Otomewo said contrary to the claim by Chevron Nigeria Limited, the spillage was massive.

He observed that the Ekpan Fish Farm which the state government had used as a reference point in its human capital development agenda was being threatened by the oil spillage.

"This farm has been a model every time we have occasion to address our youths, he (the governor) usually tell them and refer them to this farm to see what our youths and women have been able to do to establish the biggest fish village in West Africa," he noted.

Management of Chevron Nigeria Limited had in the wake of the spill claimed that only eight litres of oil was spilled.But Utuama who walked round the fish farm amidst heavy downpour lamented that what he has seen was a massive spillage and not just eight litres as claimed by the oil company.

"I have come and I have seen. The pollution is massive….What I have seem is not a pollution caused by eight litres because it is massive and from what I have seen it is continuous."

The state government he said would await the outcome of a joint Investigation and Verification visit to the site and thereafter employ every legal means to ensure that Chevron takes full responsibility for the spill and pay adequate compensation to the farmers.

Utuama, noted that in the Gulf Oil Spill, BP took full responsibility and reasoned that there was no way Chevron should not follow similar path in alleviating the plight of the farmers.

He urged the farmers not to be deterred by the incident, assuring that the state ministry of environment would ensure that the spill was properly cleaned up so that they could go back to their means of livelihood.
"We are very sure that whoever is responsible for this will pay for it. We cannot have this massive investment and allow anybody or group of persons to destroy it overnight and put our farmers into unemployment.

"As a government, through the ministry of environment, we will seek everything possible to clean up the place….while we are pursuing legal remedies. This is a challenge to our office, this is a challenge to the government and this is a challenge to the ministry of justice.

The deputy governor observed that to forestall a repeat of the incident there would be need to block the water channel into the farms, noting, "but that does not absolve the polluter from compensating us".