Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has urged the newly appointed coordinator of Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, to immediately commence the clean-up of Ogoni Land.
Recall that the clean-up of Ogoni has taken longer than necessary despite the available resources and manpower made available.
In 2012, the Nigerian government established HYPREP, to help with the clean-up of Ogoni land and impacted communities.
While congratulating Zabbey, HOMEF noted that, he must resolve to do things differently, adding that transparency, focus and inclusion of all relevant stakeholders must be key in the operations. HOMEF also called for regular consultations in which projected milestones are shared and achieved targets are presented.
The director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, in a press statement, made available to LEADERSHIP, noted that, with Zabbey’s pedigree as an academician and activist, the expectations of stakeholders are high and failure is not an option, adding that, things must be done differently and the complex pollution sites must be tackled resolutely.
“We applaud the appointment of Prof. Nenibari Zabbey, who has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important researches in the area and in the wider Niger Delta region.
This appointment signifies a turning point in the sluggish manner by which the clean-up has been approached,” Bassey pointed out.
Bassey further explained that, time is of essence as the situation gets worse with every passing day.
“While we congratulate Prof. Zabbey on this appointment, we equally take the opportunity to register some key urgent demands and hope that he uses his office to advocate for a comprehensive health and environmental audit of Ogoni land, the entire Niger Delta and wherever there has been negative impacts of hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation,” he said.
Bassey also called on the federal government, the oil and gas industry to begin a comprehensive cleanup of the Niger Delta region and take coordinated action to end all forms of pollution including through gas flaring.
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