Ogoni Clean-Up, Tool For Political Patronage, Group Alleges …Scores Buhari Low On Environmental Protection

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has expressed regrets that contracts for the clean-up of Ogoniland in Rivers State have been converted as tools for political patronage.
The group alleged that some self-seeking politicians may be using the clean-up to enrich themselves at the detriment of the negatively-impacted victims of crude oil spills and gas pollution.
They also noted that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has become a rubber stamp in the hands of politicians to scuttle the clean-up of Ogoni, thereby neglecting its core mandate.
The Executive Director of ERA, Dr. Godwin Ojo, said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the past four years, scored near zero for its poor environmental protection record, stressing that there was lack of acceptable key performance indicators for the clean-up.
Ojo, who stated this in Port Harcourt, during an environmental parliament to mark the World Environment Day (WED), however, urged the Federal Government to demonstrate seriousness on environmental protection by establishing a clean-up and remediation fund of $100 billion for the clean-up of the entire Niger Delta to restore the environment and sustain rural livelihoods.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) has called for stringent efforts and organised plan to end gas flaring in Nigeria.
The Head, Environment and Conservation of CEHRD, Dr. Kabari Sam, made the call in a statement issued in Port Harcourt to mark this year’s World Environmental Day and obtained by The Tide.
Sam said, “Not much has been done in developed and developing countries like Nigeria to address issues related to air pollution as most economies remain fossil-fuels dependent”.
He, therefore, said that any effort to end gas flaring ‘should be accompanied by a detailed plan of action to develop infrastructure required to harness Nigeria’s wasting associated gas resources for sustainable public use.
“In addition, government should develop target programmes and incentives to end artisanal oil refining activities and develop appropriate mechanisms towards reducing carbon-dioxide emissions from vehicles and other anthropogenic sources.
“The much-awaited commissioning of modular refineries could reduce the activities of artisanal refining in the Niger Delta region, if inclusive participation and environmental sustainability is embedded in the venture.
“We should not only focus on policy changes and development but change our everyday lifestyles (for example, eat plant-based diets) to reduce air pollution, phase out fossil fuels and reduce impacts on natural places, wildlife and our health,” he stated.

Dennis Naku