The House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Environment, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness to investigate the level of implementation of the United Nation’s Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni land.
The House gave the directive to the committee at its plenary in Abuja on Wednesday and is to report back to the House within four weeks.
It also summoned the officials of the Hydro-Carbons Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to appear before the committee to explain why the report was not implemented.
The resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Rep. Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Rivers), which was unanimously adopted without debate.
According to Chinda, after the presentation of the report to President Goodluck Jonathan on August 4, 2011, no action had been taken.
“Two years after the presentation of the UNEP report, the Federal Government is yet to act on it, while Ogoni people continue to wallow in pain and anguish,” he said.
He said that the non-implementation of the report by relevant authorities had led to several protests by the local community and some civil society groups.
The legislator said that the establishment of the HYPREP by the federal government immediately the report was presented to government was ineffective.
“The federal government’s efforts at addressing the issues raised in the report by hurriedly setting up the HYPREP on the eve of the presentation of the UNEP report is a mere window dressing,’’ he said.
He said that the situation was already generating ill feelings among the Ogoni people.
Chinda noted that unless the report was fully implemented, the people would continue to suffer in pain and alienated in their land, a situation which could further lead to tension.
He said that the only visible act of implementation of the UNEP report by HYPREP was the placing of bill boards at strategic places in Port Harcourt and Ogoni land.
Source: DailyTimes