The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, on Monday announced that the Federal Government has raised $177million for the clean-up of Ogoni Land.
Jibril stated this at a meeting with the Deputy High Commissioner of the British Embassy in Abuja, noting that while $177million has been raised for the clean-up, about $23million is expected from refineries before the end of October.
“The board of trustees have opened an account and that account has been credited with the sum of $177million,” he stated.
“This is what is supposed to be given by the oil majors and to pay for the cleaning and restoration of this degraded areas.
“An initial bill of $1billion was to be used over a period of five years. So, with the $177million for this year 2018, the balance of $23million is expected to come from the refineries.
“We have written to inform the President, he has given directives that the Petroleum Ministry should handle that issue. So, I believe before the end of the month, we should raise the remittance of the balance of $23million that is supposed to make it $200million for this year.”
The Deputy British High Commissioner, Ms Laure Beaufils, assured of the British Governments commitment in addressing climate-related changes in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 approved the clean-up of Ogoniland after years of neglect.
This was in line with a 2011 recommendation by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), citing the oil spill in Ogoniland as one of the worst cases of environmental degradation.
Source: OlisaTV
