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Thu, Mar

Ogoniland Clean-up: Land Dispute And Tussle Stalling Our Work – FG

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The Federal Government has disclosed that it is committed to cleaning up of the hydrocarbon impact on communities in the Ogoniland despite challenges from the locals being faced from the exercise.

The Project coordinator, Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil stated this to News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the 2020 Ogoni Day celebration in Bori, Rivers yesterday.

 

The HYPREP, an office under the Federal Ministry of Environment is responsible for the cleaning up of the decade-long oil spills in four of Ogoni local government areas in Rivers state such as Eleme, Gokana, Kana, and Tai.

 

However, Dekil revealed in spite of the government effort to clean-up the said land, land disputes, leadership tussles, and communal clashes have continued to work against the exercise.

 

Land and chieftaincy stool tussle is seriously affecting the implementation of the UN Environmental Report at the many clean-up sites.

 

The project coordinator further appealed to the community on behalf of the HYPREP to iron out their differences, saying the HYPREP as an office is not interested in any leadership or land but to have a free atmosphere to operate. 

 

According to him, the Federal Government is bothered by the continuous pollution that is still affecting the environment which he blamed it much on the oil theft being perpetrated in the community.

 

Therefore, he called on the stakeholders in the communities to help the government fight oil theft as it is the main reason the pollution kept on accumulating.

“Our efforts to clean Ogoniland will amount to nothing if after investing so much resources and time it is again re-polluted by activities of illegal bunkers and refiners.” Dekil added.

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