By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
Abuja, Nigeria – Sharon O. Ikeazor, Honourable Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Environment, yesterday told Nigerians said that even though the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has less than a year and six months to wind up, it is still very committed to the clean-up of Ogoni land.
Ikeazor who made this disclosure during a ministerial press briefing at the Nigeria Air Force Conference Centre, Abuja, said that in 2006, UNEP first conducted an independent assessment of hydrocarbon pollution in Ogoniland and this was at the instance of the federal government.
“The Ministry of Environment therefore is accelerating the remediation project and expanding on the livelihood program of the hydrocarbon impacted communities.
“Preliminary remediation activities had commenced in early 2018, and work is at various stages of the remediation processes, with successes despite delays encountered.
“The Project implementation status is from 2019 – 2021 and covers three core areas, which are contaminated soil remediation, sustainable livelihood programme and potable water supply,” the Minister said.
According to him, contracts for 21 lots were awarded for remediation in 2019, and they covered 12 of the 65 listed sites in the UNEP report. The Minister also said that these lots covered an area of 276 acres, and till date 18 of these lots have been completed and certified by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency. Three of the lots are currently undergoing certification process and one lot is still undergoing remediation.
“The impacts of the remediation effort have produced remarkable employment and livelihood opportunities among Ogoni youths. So far, a total of one thousand three hundred and thirty-seven (1,337) persons have been trained, employed, and earned income to support their livelihood, thereby enhancing local economy,” the Minister said.
Other sectors of the environment that the Honourable Minister that the minister said were priority areas of the FG include climate change, erosion and flood control, circular economy, waste management and pollution control, conservation, ocean, afforestation desertification and wildlife.
Earlier in a keynote address Engr. Hassan Musa, Permanent Secretary in the Environment Ministry said that the environment ministry “focused on evolving innovative strategies that emphasize the use of environmental re-engineering as a veritable tool for poverty eradication, food security, sustainable economic development and improvement in the livelihood of the Nigerian populace.”
In attendance at the environment press briefing were directors of federal ministries of the environment, representatives of the EU and diplomatic community, Senator Ita Enang, adviser to President Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Nigeria’s representative of the UNDP, Mohammed Yahya, and representatives of the Communications minister and NNPC Group Managing Director.
Part of the Press meeting included the launch of a document, “Restoring the Landscape: A Compendium of Best Practices, published by the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
Some environmental activists however do not share the passion of the Honourable minister concerning the Ogoni Clean Up. At several press briefings in Benin City in 2021, Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, executive director of the Environmental Rights Action, ERA, questioned the quality of work being carried out by the Federal government on the project.
In its report, No Clean Up, No Justice (2020) ERA said that those who presided over the failed clean up by Shell were the same people in the Federal government program, the Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), supervising the clean-up of the same polluted sites in Ogoni land.
“This is a huge joke on Nigeria taken too far; we believe HYPREP does not have the capacity to carry out the Ogoni Clean Up,” Dr Uyo Ojo had said in a press statement.
Another environment activist, Rev David Ugolor, executive director of the Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice (ANEEJ), also told Alltimepost.com that claims made by the Federal government on the Ogoni Clean Up was a “waste of resources.”
