In the aftermath of the breach in the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) infrastructure which affected the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) pipeline, the people of Ikpokpo community, one of the affected communities in the ancient Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, have issued demands to the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) before repairs can be effected to the damaged pipeline.

In a Save Our Souls (SOS) message to PENGlobal, Chief Edward Odudu, a community leader who holds the traditional office of Amadiwei of Ikpokpo, accused the NGC of insensitivity by mobilising contractors to the site of the explosion without any formal meeting with the community leaders.

He said, "An incident happened, one that posed a threat to human lives. Instead of reaching out to community leaders to assess the impacts on their lives and to do the needful, they are mobilising contractors to site without seeing the community leadership."

According to him, the explosion, which caused the earth to quake and resulted in the death of domestic animals such as ducks, has also created an anxiety in the people who now fear for their lives.

"As a community chief, no contractor will do any work until they give us our demands," he vowed, insisting it is time to collect on their demands from the company, which have been long overdue.

According the Ikpokpo leader, before any repair work is to be done, they demanded the building of a modern civic center, which he claimed was promised them by the company for the past three years, but nothing has been done about it.

Among other demands he listed are immediate completion of Okpele-Ama / Tebujor and Opuedebubor communities electrification projects, and the extension of electrification project to Ikpokpo community and environs.

The community leader also requested in the immediate term, medical attention and relief materials from the NGC to the people of the affected communities.

Meanwhile, the NNPCL, in its press statement, revealed that while it is yet to unravel the cause of the explosion, gave the assurance that the safety of host communities and the protection of the environment remain its paramount concern.

Recall that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had confirmed a breach on the pipeline near Tebujor, Okpele-ama, and Ikpokpo communities on Thursday, December 11, 2025. The ELPS, a natural gas pipeline, was built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos region of the Niger Delta area to the Egbin power station near Lagos in Nigeria.

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