The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ogoni clean up

  • Why Ogoni clean-up suffered delay, by Minister

    IMPLEMENTATION of the recommendations of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni oil spill suffered delay due to structural reasons.

    Environment Minister, Hajia Amina Mohammed, stated this at the weekend during the 10th year anniversary of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in Abuja.

    She said there was need to put in place solid foundations to ensure the project outlives the current administration.

    She said beyond the exercise expected to last for 25 years, it became imperative for the host communities to remain clean for the benefit of future generations.

    The minister, who attributed declining revenue of the federal government to incessant pipeline vandalism, she urged Niger Delta agitators to embrace peace.

    She said the federal government was willing to dialogue with the aggrieved stakeholders, especially youths and opinion leaders in the region.

    She tasked the oil spill regulatory agency to step up their activities to reduce degradation of the environment.

    House Committee Chairman on Environment Chidoka Obinna tasked NOSDRA to ensure oil multinationals adhere strictly to regulations of the agency.

    Obinna said the oil firm often pretends there is mutual relationship between host communities and their firms, adding that their level of compliance to regulations in their host country is high compared to their cooperation in Nigeria.

  • ‘Ogoni clean-up’ll take about 30 years to accomplish’

    ‘Ogoni clean-up’ll take about 30 years to accomplish’

    The clean-up of Ogoniland in River State will take close to three decades to be fully accomplished because of the severity of the environmental pollution, which entails remediation, and restoration, the Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, has said.

    He said though steps were being taken, including plans for emergency actions and demonstration of the actual clean-up processes, “the delay in the take-off of the clean-up is the behind the scene preparatory stage, which is an essential process to ensure that when the tyre meets the tarmac the drive truly begins”.

    The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) on August 4, 2011, submitted an extensive report on its environmental assessment of Ogoniland. The report not only documented the problems that existed, but also contained recommendations on how they can be addressed, both in the short term and in the long term.

    To underscore the Federal Government’s commitment to the clean-up, President Muhammadu Buhari recently inaugurated the 13-member Governing Council and 10-member Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) for Ogoniland. Both bodies were for the implantation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland.

    However, five years down the line, the project is yet to properly take-off, leaving the local communities to continue to suffer from the problem, which existed long before the UNEP report. But, according to Nnimmo, a renowned environmentalist, it would take close to three decades to accomplish the project, as the sheer magnitude of the pollution required extensive remediation and restoration.

    Apart from the need for extensive remediation and restoration planning, scientific analysis, community involvement, and genuine partnerships, it was also learnt that there has been some kind of squabble, wrangling and politicking within the committee constituted by the government to handle the  exercise.

  • Ijaw youths commend FG for Ogoni clean-up

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) on Saturday applauded the Federal Government for the commencement of the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the clean-up of Ogoniland.

    The IYC made the commendation in a statement issued by its spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, in Yenagoa.

    The group also urged the federal government to extend the gesture to other Niger Delta communities adversely affected by oil and gas exploration.

    The IYC noted that the formal inauguration was a practical demonstration of political will to implement the UNEP report on Ogoni by the highest political authority.

    “Irrespective of the fact that funds have not been released for the purpose, the effort is nevertheless commendable.

    “The government is advised to immediately take concrete actions by awarding the relevant contracts and release funds for the actual clean-up to start without delay.

    “We express our strong solidarity with the Ogoni nation and salute the courage of fallen and living heroes of the Ogoni struggle such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Ogoni 9, Ledum Mittee and others.

    “This effort by government clearly shows that their sacrifices were not in vain and it is also the triumph of non-violence struggle.

    “We recommend the Ogoni example to other Niger Delta people and communities,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted IYC as saying in the statement.

    According to the group, the Ogoni clean-up should be used as a starting point to clean-up the entire Niger Delta region.

  • IYC backs Ogoni clean-up

    The Speaker, Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), Mr. Nkpon Amon, has pledged the group’s readiness to partner with the Federal Government for a successful flag off of the Ogoni clean-up exercise.

    Amon made the pledge in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    He said IYC would take advantage of President Muhamadu Buhari’s visit to address the youths of the area on need to avoid politicising the UNEP Report implementation

    “We are ready to give all the necessary support to ensure that the President’s visit yields its expected dividend which would translate to a better environment in Ogoni land.

    “We shall also advise our youths against using political sentiments to disrupt the good intent of the UNEP Report implementation.

    “Ogoni is amongst the Niger Delta communities and so the UNEP Report implementation has always been part of our request to the federal government.

    “This clean-up exercise would be recorded as one of the fulfilled campaign promises of the President to the Niger Delta people and we as a body, applaud this exercise,” he said.

  • Ogoni clean-up: Buhari is Niger Delta’s ‘son’, says APC

    Ogoni clean-up: Buhari is Niger Delta’s ‘son’, says APC

    Ahead of the June 2 kick-off of the clean-up of Ogoni land in Rivers State, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said President Muhammadu Buhari is an honourary son of the Niger Delta.

    The party said the President, in just one year in office, had demonstrated his love for the region and determination to fast-track its development.

    It said the region was rich in crude oil and gas though its people and land were neglected and marginalised with the environment polluted and devastated over the years.

    In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by its Chairman Davies Ikanya, through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Public Affairs, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, APC said President Buhari had done so much within a year to be regarded as a son of Niger Delta.

    The President will, on June 2, kick-start the Ogoni clean-up at Numuu-Tekuru Waterfront in Bodo City, Gokana Local Government Area.

    The clean-up is part of the recommendations in the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on environmental assessment of Ogoni land, comprising Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme local government areas.

    The Buhari administration also insisted on including the Calabar–Lagos rail-line and Calabar–Itu Road in this year’s budget to fast-track development and arrest unemployment in Niger Delta.

    The Rivers State APC said the President’s action justified its position that he had done so well, especially for the people of the region.

    It said: “It will not be out of place if we declare President Buhari as a true friend and son of Niger Delta.

    “Earmarking N60 billion for the Calabar–Lagos Rail Line and N6.6 billion to rehabilitate the Calabar–Itu Federal Highway, in addition to these major projects in the Southsouth: rehabilitation of Odukpani–Itu–Ikot Ekpene Road in Cross River/Akwa Ibom states (N6 billion), construction and installation of 10-kilometre of 33 KVA line and associated 2x15MVA 33/11KV sub-station at Ibuzor, Delta State (N360 million); and bill of engineering measurement for 33 KVA overhead line single circuit line from Glory Power Station to Federal University at Otuoke, Bayelsa State, with 2×2.5MVA (N257.5 million).

    “These laudable projects being undertaken by the Buhari administration in its first year in office speak volumes about his desire to speedily develop the Niger Delta region. This is truly remarkable, as the administration is doing this, despite the unacceptable acts of some of our youths, who have resorted to sabotaging the economic fortunes of our nation by blowing up oil facilities at an alarming rate…”

     

  • Buhari to launch UNEP clean-up of Ogoni June 2

    Buhari to launch UNEP clean-up of Ogoni June 2

    Barring any last minute change of plans, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to launch on June 2 this year, the clean-up of Ogoni land, recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

    The disclosure was made Thursday by the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Muhammed, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, while being received by the Rivers Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.

    The minister, who was represented by the Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jubril, stated that the team was in Rivers to seek collaboration and cooperation with the state government and Ogoni stakeholders in the implementation of the UNEP report.

    The Rivers government also assured of its preparedness to collaborate with the Federal Government in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of UNEP on environmental assessment of Ogoni land.

    Wike, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, expressed happiness with the commitment of the Federal Government in the implementation of the UNEP report, noting that the devastation of the Niger Delta environment had impacted negatively on the people.

    Rivers governor said: “As a state, we strongly reiterate our support towards the holistic implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoni land. We are excited to see the drive of the Minister for Environment in ensuring that the Ogoni clean-up exercise becomes a reality.”

    Wike also expressed the readiness of the Ogoni people and indeed Rivers state to cooperate and collaborate to see the successful conclusion of the clean-up exercise, in accordance with internationally-acceptable standards, to enable the people to return to their farmlands.

    The governor noted that his administration was determined to do all within its powers to provide people-oriented governance, disclosing that efforts were on to restore the garden city status of Port Harcourt.

    The minister for environment also assured that the clean-up of Ogoni land would be driven by all stakeholders in the region and would ensure that the people benefit from it.

    Muhammed lauded the Rivers government for the warm reception accorded the team, stressing that it was an indication that the Federal Government could partner with Rivers in many areas.