Minister: Why Buhari’s administration won’t complete Ogoni clean-up

Mohammed Abdullahi, minister of environment, says the ongoing Ogoni clean-up will not be completed under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abdullahi said this on Wednesday while addressing state house correspondents after a meeting with Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The Ogoni clean-up project was launched in 2016, following the recommendations of a 2011 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the impact of oil extraction in Ogoniland.

The project aims to restore the polluted environments and put an end to all forms of oil contamination in the region.

Abdullahi said up to 10 sites have been restored, but that more work still needs to be done as there is no “miraculous” approach to the clean-up.

“There is nothing miraculous about our approach to the clean-up operations. It is going to be a very pragmatic, practicable and quick-win solution,” he said.

“First, like I told you earlier, is to ensure that there is a multi-stakeholder agreement in terms of what we’re supposed to do, where we’re going.

“Then secondly, we’ve taken very strong steps to address the concerns bordering on procurement, on project management, on fund management and so on, so that all stakeholders will be on board.

“So, I can assure you that if these issues are resolved, within the next couple of weeks, we should be focused on immediate procurement processes that will ensure that the projects are implemented as at when due.

“However, they are phased projects. We do not envisage that we can finish the entire project within the lifetime of this government. However, the process that we can do at the moment is to ensure that there is immediate irrigation, water projects to ensure that there is clean water provided for the people and that other sites will begin the remediation process.

“This is done in liaison with UNEP and our sister agency, NESDRA. So, we are on course. We’ll do the best we can and I can assure you that we will cover some mileage in the process.

“So, there is no magic or miracle about it. We are focused on what we want to do. Like I told you, Mr. President said our eyes must be on the ball and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“At the moment, from the briefings I’ve gotten from the project coordinator of HYPREP, there has been considerable progress in terms of actual site remediation. Unfortunately, I don’t have the sites yet, but close to about 10 sites that are very endemic in terms of pollution and damaged ecosystem have been remediated.”