N’Delta Clean-Up Needs Foreign Support – Minister

The sub-committees on the Clean-up of oil impacted sites in the Niger Delta were on Thursday charged to identify international organisations that could lend support.
The Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, gave the charge in Abuja at a meeting with members of the sub-committees on the clean-up and remediation of the Niger Delta region.
Odey said the huge amount of financial resources required to execute the task made the need to source for funds both within and outside the country imperatie.
He said that apart from contributions from the government and oil industry operations, the members should identify other sources both in terms of direct funding and donation of equipment to carry out the clean-up.
He commended the effort of the committees towards the actualization of the assignment and urged them to remain committed to the chosen timelines for the submission of the report to the government.
The minister said the government was determined to stop gas flaring as it could be utilised for power generation.
The committees were mandated to examine the efficacy of the existing remediation strategies and how they could be improved upon to meet international standards.
They are also to advise regulatory agencies on measures to be taken to prevent gas flaring, oil spillage and the dumping of waste.
It would be recalled recalls that the 16-member sub-committees were set up as part of efforts by the government to address the complaints of the oil producing communities under the amnesty programme.