15 Ogoni Pollution Sites Completely Cleaned – FG

Not less than 15 of the oil-polluted sites in Ogoniland have
been completely cleaned up, the Federal Government has
revealed.

Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmoud, who disclosed this to
State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, also blamed community
disputes for delays experienced so far in the cleanup exercise.

The Minister also disclosed that the FEC approved
N6,048,318,974.74 billion for the provision of potable water in the
four local government areas of Ogoniland, namely Gokana, Khana,
Eleme and Tai.

Asked why the clean-up has taken five years to clean up, Mahmoud
said: “Okay, well, first of all, let me clear the air that the
project is not behind by five years.

“Yes, we have some delays. And this was evident when we came to
assess the project and we went all the way to Geneva, and met with
UNEP, that’s the United Nations Environment Programme that designed
the project, conducted the studies and make recommendations.

“When we came back, I went and explained to Mr. President that
according to their record, we were behind by just one year. And we
sought for approval to make some changes, and he graciously
approved. And we have made those changes. And between then, and now
15 sites have been cleaned up and certified, clean.

“So there was a delay of one year yes, but then we have
progressed. Now I can say that within the last one year, we have
done up to 15 sites.

“So there’s tremendous amount of progress. And we are trying to
push to catch up with the time, although we are still behind maybe
by months.”

“But this is a project that you want to take time to do it and
do it well. We are talking about the livelihood of people,
contaminated soil by hydrocarbons, these are cancer causing
chemicals, or what we call carcinogens.

“So while we try to make sure that we speed up, but we also have
been careful to make sure it’s clean and is clean to the standard
of the World Health Organisation and the standard set also by
UNEP.

“So the project is going on and one of the things is this
provision of water. Some of the delays that you are even talking
about, yes, this is the first time that a project of this size and
this magnitude is being undertaken, so you have these hiccups from
the beginning and maybe also you have issues in the area because
there are some issues with the land, maybe communities that are in
dispute or not allowing access as they should and all that
stuff.

“We awarded the first site in 2017 and the contractors were
mobilised in 2018. Now, cleanup started, like I said, because being
a brand new project, there were a lot of hiccups. Then towards the
end of 2019 we awarded another contacted of 36 sites, all of these
sites are being worked on and at various stages of work right now,”
he said.

Not less than 15 of the oil-polluted sites in Ogoniland have
been completely cleaned up, the Federal Government has
revealed.

Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmoud, who disclosed this to
State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, also blamed community
disputes for delays experienced so far in the cleanup exercise.

The Minister also disclosed that the FEC approved
N6,048,318,974.74 billion for the provision of potable water in the
four local government areas of Ogoniland, namely Gokana, Khana,
Eleme and Tai.

Asked why the clean-up has taken five years to clean up, Mahmoud
said: “Okay, well, first of all, let me clear the air that the
project is not behind by five years.

“Yes, we have some delays. And this was evident when we came to
assess the project and we went all the way to Geneva, and met with
UNEP, that’s the United Nations Environment Programme that designed
the project, conducted the studies and make recommendations.

“When we came back, I went and explained to Mr. President that
according to their record, we were behind by just one year. And we
sought for approval to make some changes, and he graciously
approved. And we have made those changes. And between then, and now
15 sites have been cleaned up and certified, clean.

“So there was a delay of one year yes, but then we have
progressed. Now I can say that within the last one year, we have
done up to 15 sites.

“So there’s tremendous amount of progress. And we are trying to
push to catch up with the time, although we are still behind maybe
by months.”

“But this is a project that you want to take time to do it and
do it well. We are talking about the livelihood of people,
contaminated soil by hydrocarbons, these are cancer causing
chemicals, or what we call carcinogens.

“So while we try to make sure that we speed up, but we also have
been careful to make sure it’s clean and is clean to the standard
of the World Health Organisation and the standard set also by
UNEP.

“So the project is going on and one of the things is this
provision of water. Some of the delays that you are even talking
about, yes, this is the first time that a project of this size and
this magnitude is being undertaken, so you have these hiccups from
the beginning and maybe also you have issues in the area because
there are some issues with the land, maybe communities that are in
dispute or not allowing access as they should and all that
stuff.

“We awarded the first site in 2017 and the contractors were
mobilised in 2018. Now, cleanup started, like I said, because being
a brand new project, there were a lot of hiccups. Then towards the
end of 2019 we awarded another contacted of 36 sites, all of these
sites are being worked on and at various stages of work right now,”
he said.