THE Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, on Wednesday said the state was suffering from environmental hazard from 43 oil wells belonging to the state which were “wrongly” ceded to Rivers.

He said while the state suffered, Rivers was getting increased allocation from the Federal Government.

Uzodinma, therefore, demanded a refund to Imo State from the oil wells, he claimed, belonged to the state.

The governor spoke in Owerri during a public hearing on current revenue allocation formula for South-East zone.

He said, “Imo State has 43 oil wells that were wrongly attributed to Rivers State. While Rivers was receiving the benefits in increased allocation of funds, Imo State was grappling with the consequences of oil spillage, degradation of arable land and waterways, restiveness of the youth, insecurity, and unemployment among other ills.

“We believe that the lost revenue be refunded to Imo State. In addition, a special fund should be made available to Imo State to help the state in recovering and remediating the environmental damage caused by these oil and gas explorations.”