Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has ordered ExxonMobil to clean up the oil spill that occurred at Ndito Eka-Iba in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom on May 8.

Ibeno Communities’s youth president, Mr Godwin Ikot, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.

He said the governor, who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government,  Mr. Etekamba Umoren, instructed the company to commence the cleanup exercise immediately in the area.

“At the meeting yesterday, the SSG has given ExxonMobil the order from the governor, that they should go and start the cleanup exercise immediately.

“ExxonMobil has agreed to clean-up the spillage and fixed the Joint Investigation Visit to the site of the incident for Friday, June 3,” he said.

Ikot said that after the JIV’s visit, ExxonMobil would negotiate how to clean-up the oil spill in the affected areas.

“We the youths in Ibeno Communities stand with the decision of the state government, that ExxonMobil should cleanup the entire areas affected by the oil spill,’’ Ikot said.

Mr. Ogechukwu Udeagha, Manager, Media and Communications of ExxonMobil, Lagos, confirmed the incident.

Udeagha, however, explained that the Monarch drilling rig, owned by Depthwize Nigeria Limited, drilling on behalf of Conoil Producing Limited damaged an MPN pipeline culminating in the oil spill.

“I am still trying to get the report from the team that went there.

“They were supposed to file a formal report but they haven’t done that, until we see that report, we can’t issue a statement,’’ Udeagha said.

NAN reports that government officials, ExxonMobil and Depthwize team, youths of Ibeno among others were all represented at the meeting. NAN