Represented by Minister of
State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman, the minister Mrs Amina Muhammed said the
visit to Ogoni was to seek the collaboration of all stakeholders in a clean-up
exercise.
The Minister, Mrs Amina
Muhammed disclosed this on Thursday in Port Harcourt during a courtesy visit to
Gov Nyeson Wike of Rivers.
“The programme is expected
to be launched on June 2; it has been designed to be driven by all stakeholders
in the region.
“The essence of this is to
ensure that the people of Ogoni and the region at large benefitted from the
process,’’ she said.
Wike, represented by his
deputy, Dr Ipalibo Banigo, expressed the willingness of the state government to
partner the Federal Government in implementing the UNEP report.
The governor expressed joy
at the commitment of the Federal Government in the UNEP report implementation
process.
“As a state, we strongly
reiterate our support towards the implementation of the UNEP report on
Ogoniland.
“We are excited to see the
drive of the Federal Government in ensuring that the Ogoni clean-up exercise
becomes a reality,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) reports that at the request of the Federal Government, UNEP undertook a
study on issues of environmental devastation in Ogoniland.
The report which was
released in 2011, indicted the Shell Petroleum Development Company, accusing it
of massive and systematic environmental devastation and persistent violation of
laws governing oil and gas operations.
It covered contaminated
land, groundwater, surface water, sediment, vegetation, air pollution, public
health, industry practices and institutional issues in Ogoniland.
The study recommended that
the environmental clean-up and restoration of Ogoniland is possible but may
take between 25 and 30 years to achieve.
It also noted that “most
members of the current Ogoniland community had lived with chronic oil pollution
throughout their lives.”
The report had compelled
Nigerian authorities and multinational oil companies operating in the area to
clean-up the pollution caused by decades of oil exploration activities in the
area.
(NAN)
About time they've cheated these people for so long
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