An explosion rocked the Rivers State community on Monday night, blowing up an oil pipeline exporting Nigeria crude oil to the international market.
The blast struck a section of the pipeline near Bodo-Bonny Road in the state’s Gokana Local Government Area, which is currently under construction.
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In a video posted by Channels Television on Facebook, black smoke can be seen billowing up the sky.
Channels report that the Trans-Niger pipeline is a major pipeline transporting crude oil from oil fields in Rivers and Bayelsa states to the Bonny crude oil export terminal, a key route for exporting Nigerian crude oil to the international market.
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The cause of the explosion cannot be ascertained at the time of this report.
It is not clear if it is connected to the political crises in the state triggered by the feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister.
The incident occurred about a week after the Ijaw National Congress threatened to shut down crude oil exploration in Nigeria’s Delta region if Mr Fubara is impeached.
It also occurred a few hours after the pro-Wike lawmakers served Mr Fubara and his deputy a letter containing gross misconduct they claimed the governor had committed.
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Rivers has been enmeshed in political turmoil that has so far led to the death of two persons, including a police officer.
The Supreme Court last month restored 27 pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate state assembly members, days after the lawmakers issued several ultimatums to the governor, including 48 hours to present the 2025 budget.
Efforts by the governor to present the budget after the expiration of the deadline have been rebuffed by the lawmakers.
