FG to release $10m to begin Ogoni clean-up

The Federal Government will soon release $10m to begin the process of cleaning up areas devastated by oil spills in Ogoniland in Rivers State.

An estimated $1.04bn would be required to effectively clean up the entire area of the oil spill in Ogoniland, according to a recent assessment report by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Beyond the expected funds, stakeholders who attended a roundtable to assess the implementation of the UNEP recommendations in Abuja on Tuesday suggested the review of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Act 2006 to incorporate responsibility for environmental contamination to a separate government agency.

They also expressed fears that there might be a fresh crisis, if the community was not carried along when the funds are eventually released.

The UNEP report, which was released in August 2011, chronicled the effect of oil spills in the region which has also resulted in water contamination in Ogoniland and severely impacted many other components of the environment.
ADVERTISEMENT

The study also indicated that the environmental restoration in Ogoniland was feasible but might take 25 to 30 years to be achieved.

The convener of the roundtable and Executive Director, Social Action, Dr. Isaac Osuoka, said the problem of oil spillage had persisted in the Niger Delta region because appropriate legislation to back up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project was lacking.

He said, “In the last two months, there has been a glimmer of light, indicating that at last, the much-awaited remediation of the Ogoni environment may begin. The announcement by the Federal Government that it is setting aside $10m to commence the process is a welcome gesture.”

The paramount ruler of Mogho community in Ogoniland, Chief Mene Kpea, criticised the delay by the government to implement the UNEP recommendations, four years after it was released.

He said, “Ogoni community is very worried over the delay in the implementation process. Moreover, the $10m which government promised to release is too small by our estimation; it cannot solve the whole problem our land is facing.”

Also speaking, Head of Oil and Gas Division (Environmental Assessment Department) at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Emmanuel Okokon-Ndem, however cautioned stakeholders involved in the project to give the new administrative benefit of the doubt in actualising the clean-up.

“I want to assure you that the government is doing everything to fulfil its promises. Let us drop the mutual suspicion. Let us see how all of us can come together and move forward to achieve our goals and restore the community for better,” he suggested.