Metro
Nigerian govt claims indigenes make up 95% of Ogoni clean-up project
The Federal Ministry of Environment under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) on Monday assured Ogoni people of their full participation in the ongoing clean-up of oil impacted Ogoni communities in Rivers.
It said that 95 per cent Ogonis were currently working in different capacities in the clean-up of 21 remediation sites in Ogoniland.
Dr Marvin Dekil, Project Coordinator of HYPREP, told newsmen in Port Harcourt on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ meeting with Ogoni Elected Representatives on the clean-up project.
He said HYPREP organised the meeting to bring stakeholders to current happenings in the clean-up exercise as well as assure them of the Federal Government’s commitment to Ogoni environment and its people.
“This commitment is there for all to see as 90 per cent of the workforce of HYPREP is made up of indigenous Ogonis even though it’s a national project.
“Also, the technical team of HYPREP is made up of 95 per cent indigent Ogonis which are achievements for the people.
Read also: RUGA: Zamfara earmarks 300 hectares of land to resettle herders
“Similarly, we have about 320 Ogoni youths actively engaged on the sites as we speak, while 21 of them were sent to Geneva, Switzerland, to undergo further training on remediation,” he said.
“So, we are meeting with political leaders from the National and State Assemblies and Chairmen of the four Local Government Areas (LGAs) that makes up Ogoniland, including, Eleme, Gokana, Khana and Tai.
“We want them to understand that HYPREP is actively working in all four LGAs at different speed in the 21 sites as well as seek their support in our engagement processes.
“We believe that the political leadership will be the best people to help us manage such challenges,” he pleaded.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...