Abstract:
Globally, oil and gas exploration and transportation result in various problems, which include
spills. Spills are known to negatively impact on the environment and human health as well a
social and economic activities. Impacts of oil spills are increasingly multi-dimensional and are
believed to be one of the main causes of insurgencies in Nigeria. A study was carried out to
assess the socio-economic impacts of oil spills in some Masev Communities of Benue State
traversed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) oil pipeline project. An
extensive area of prime agricultural land has been affected. Information from the NNPC Depot in
Makurdi showed that most of the oil spill cases that took place in Benue State from 2000 - 2005
were recorded within this stretch and that people living within these communities made several
complaints to NNPC and Benue State government on the effects of the pipeline project on their
environment within the period. The study used a combination of primary and secondary data
sources to collect information on communities selected from both the affected and some
unaffected areas within the same geographical location. The researchers used questionnaires,
interviews, and discussions to collect information on 14 socio-economic variables. The data so
obtained were analyzed using appropriate quantitative analysis. The result of the analysis on the
affected communities, based on the data from the respondents, showed that most of the
respondents believed that oil spillage from the NNPC pipeline project had strong negative effect
on many aspects of their socio-economic life. The study ended with the conclusion that
petroleum oil spillage had negative effects on the socio-economic life of the Masev communities
within seventeen villages in the Ugee, Mbalom and Mbasombo Council wards in Gwer LGA, of
Benue State, from oil spill incidences from the NNPC oil pipeline project, which occurred from
2000 to 2005. It also suggested possible measures to prevent or control similar disasters in
future. |
