The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke yesterday disclosed that the federal government was yet to achieve full objectives in the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the restoration of Ogoni land.
Diezani who spoke at a stakeholder’s forum on Environmental Restoration of Ogoniland, agreed that some of the transition phase objectives and emergency measures as recommended by the report has been implemented by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), but added, “there are still actionable recommendation spread across government, public health, environmental, operational and community issues that are yet to be addressed.”
According to her, the report implementation has also suffered because the community and relevant stakeholders have not been properly consulted.
Her expectation is that one of the outcome of the discuss “appropriate structure or entity that should be put in place for the deployment and disbursement of the funds for the Ogoni restoration.
“Let me make it clear that HYPREP is not the body that is meant to handle actual fund or deployment of those said funds regarding the Ogoni restoration effort in tandem with UNEP”
Government is reviewing the HYPREP structue the HYPREP to determine the best way to rejunate the programme to restore Ogoni land.
She said the stakeholders forum was part of fresh dimension to address the issues and discuss the environmental realities in Ogoniland.
“We want and need to know at this time from the residents in the community and the representatives what is the real solution on ground, which of UNEPs recommendations have been implemented, what still needs to be done and what is holding the actionable items from being done.” The minister said.
was to implement the actionable recommendations of the UNEP report on Ogoni land
In attendance were traditional rulers, leaders, community leaders, faith based leaders, academics, NGOs , CSOs and relevant multilateral institutions.
The Nigerian government commissioned UNEP in 2006 to carry out an environment assessment of Ogoniland in Rivers State. On August 4 2011, UNEP submitted the report to government.
A presidential implementation committee was then set up by FG to review the UNEP report.
After thorough considerations of the recommendation of the report by the PIC president Jonathan based on the PIC report and in line with commissions of the Petroleum Act, approved the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Pullo (HYPREP) in 2012 a special unit under the ministry of petroleum resources. Its duties among others was to implement the actionable recommendations of the UNEP report on Ogoni land.
Source: People’sDaily
