The Federal Government has assured indigenes of Ogoniland in Rivers state the the funds meant for the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report, is sacrosanct to the project.
The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jubril gave the assurance at the 2nd stakeholders meeting on the implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland cleanup project by the Federal Ministry of Environment through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Friday.
Represented in the event by a head of department in the ministry, Dr. Ishaku Mohammed, Jubril insisted that no part of the fund meant for the cleanup of the oil impacted sites in My homeland would be diverted into any other use, noting that Ogoni cleanup exercise will serve as a template for the cleanup of the entire Niger delta region.
He said: โFunding is the area of concern. We have opened EXCO account. We assure that the money for the project are sacrosanct for the project and will not be diverted for other uses.
โThe structure of the process is formidable that no single member or individual can withdraw without going through the due process.
โProvide credible feedback as concerns the clean up that is the only way we can appreciate the federal government for having the political will to implement the remediation.โ
Corroborating the Minister, the President of KAGOTE, a social cultural organization in Ogoniland, who is also a member of Board of Trustee (HYPREP), Dr. Peter Medee, disclosed that the board has successfully opened an account with a foreign bank, adding that the success would guarantee security of funds for the project.
โThe Ogoni Trust Fund has been incorporated. Two Ogonis are trustees in the fund. Ogoni can use the fund without interference from the federal government and it is done in such a way that change in administration will not affect the project.
โNo part of the fund for the cleanup is missing. We have received the fund from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) led by Shell. The first part of the money has been received and is now in the Ogoni Trust Fund. An Ogoni son is one of the three signatories to the account.
โWe have successfully opened an account with Standard Chartered Bank of London. We are now sure that the fund is secured. The structures for the cleanup are serious,โ Medee said.
Also, the President of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP and Member of the Governing Council, Leborsi Pyagbara, stated that Ogoni people want clean environment.
He said: โWe asked a question to stop Ogoni environment from devastation. It is only our collective will collective support that will make the project a success. For us, we Iโll continue to raise alarm.
โI got news that all the funding for this year for the project have been provide. It is left for us to see house we can put things in place to see that the cleanup is carried out.โ
FG also assured that all the money so far paid for the sake of the process were intact in a designated account, adding that Ogoni Trust Fund has been incorporated.
For Prof. Ben Nannen, a member of the governing council for the exercise, peace is paramount to the desired success in the project, but noted that this could only be achieved when the livelihood aspect of the Report is implemented with people economically empowered to be able to fend for themselves while the exercise lasts.
โI appeal for peace in Ogoni. Now that the project is on we need peace so we can achieve the process.
โWe also need livelihood. It is as much important to us as the cleanup itself. We must find a way of putting food on the table of Ogonis.
โWhat is there should be leveraged with donor agencies support to give a robust livelihood to the people.โ he said.
