Ogoni Cleanup Won’t Be Completed Before 2023 — Federal Govt

Federal government has said it does not envisage the completion of the entire Ogoni Cleanup Project during the lifetime of the current administration.

The minister of environment, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He said the project, which was divided into phases, had seen 10 polluted sites cleaned up.

Abdullahi said there had been concerns about some aspects of the project, but also disclosed that the federal government had made moves at rallying all stakeholders so the work could move faster.

He said, “I had the opportunity to present to Mr. President, in accordance with the key priorities of the ministry, certain critical projects that are undergoing some sort of review and seeking direction from Mr. President.

“First, you are all aware of the hydrocarbon pollution remediation projects, which is called the Ogoni cleanup. It’s a major priority of this government and particularly, based on the undertaking and the promises made by Mr. President, to deliver a very clean ecosystem for the Ogoni people.

“Now, I have briefed the president on where we are and with my engagement inter alia, with key stakeholders; I had discussions with Shell, with UNEP, that is the United Nations Environment Programme. I also had discussions with the chairman of the Ogoni Trust Fund, and of course, the newly deployed project coordinator of the fund.

“So, I’ve updated the president on that and the key understanding is that we are focused on the delivery of the Ogoni cleanup. We are directed, particularly by the president, to be very focused and, as he said, fix our eyes on the ball to ensure there are no distractions, that we deliver.

“He has given us marching orders to ensure that the concerns raised by the partners, particularly Shell, UNEP, Agip, Total, and other parties, and indeed the stakeholders of Ogoniland, that those concerns are addressed to ensure that the process goes on hindered”, he said.

Asked if the administration hoped to complete the cleanup process during its tenure, the Minister said things are being sped up, but that the administration did not envisage completing all the phases.

“There is nothing miraculous about our approach to the cleanup operations, it is going to be a very pragmatic, practicable and quick-win solution. First, like I told you earlier, is to ensure that there is a multi-stakeholder agreement in terms of what we’re supposed to do, where we’re going.

“Second, we’ve taken very strong steps to address the concerns bordering on procurement, on project management, on fund management and so on, so that all stakeholders will be on board.

“So, I can assure you that if these issues are resolved, within the next couple of weeks, we should be focused on immediate procurement processes that will ensure that the projects are implemented as at when due,” he said.