Bille, one of the coastal communities in Rivers State, said to be harbouring militants, has appealed to the Rivers State Government and oil companies operating in the area to come to its aid by providing it with more land and potable water.
Besides, the indigenes who are in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State are insisting that they have nothing to do with militants.
A chief in the community, Chief Alabo Benson, told our correspondent in an exclusive interview on Sunday that the people of the area needed water and other basic amenities to survive.
Benson, a retired top civil servant, pointed out that those who were linking the community with militants were doing so in a bid to give the area a bad name so that it would be wiped off for the selfish interest of their detractors.
He said, �What we need is water and at least 10 hectares of reclaimed land so that we and our children can have a home to live. We have nothing to do with fighting with the government or soldiers.
�As you can see, most of our people, including women, are fishermen and traders, while most of them reside in Port Harcourt and other cities and only visit here for socials events. Whenever we hear of any threat or threat to the oil companies, we always report to the relevant agencies.�
Benson, whose views were corroborated by another chief in the community, Chief Marshal Dokubo, stated that the area was constantly being threatened by flood and erosion.
Dokubo, lamented, �We have already made our plea to the government to assist us in reclaiming at least 10 hectares of land so that we can erect functional houses. Whenever it rains, the water comes and washes our houses up to the churches.
�This is very unfortunate because we have no other place to go to than this our ancestral home which is buried in the riverbank.�
He lamented that the water project put in the area by Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Niger Delta Development Commission had since packed up and that the people were forced to drink from the river and other unreliable sources.