The Federal Government has defended the clean-up of Ogoni land to the Ministry of Environment vide a memo on April 28, 2022 with Ref. No, PRES/81/SGF/82, conveyed this via the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Ministry, in statement by its Press Director, Saghir el Mohammed, noted that the withdrawal of clean-up from the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), does not invalidate the agency.
According to the Ministry, the establishment of HYPREP was guided by legal instruments and international obligations to address environmental challenges in the country in line with the government gazette and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
This, it said, also places the project appropriately under the purview of the Ministry.
The President reiterated the oversight of the Ministry over HYPREP and has directed the Environment Minister, Mohammed Abdullahi, to deliver on the Ogoni land clean-up with dispatch.
The statement said: “The President reiterated the oversight of the Ministry over HYPREP and has directed the Environment Minister, Mohammed Abdullahi, to deliver on the Ogoni land clean-up with dispatch.”
While approving the reorganisation of the operations of HYPREP to make it more effective, the President also directed the full audit of the accounts of HYPREP from inception to date.
The Ministry assured all international oil companies (IOCs), partners and Ogoni stakeholders of the Federal Government’s commitment to those instruments and obligations.
Abdullahi was quoted to have implored stakeholders to remain calm and continue to cooperate with HYPREP, as it strived to execute its mandate.
He assured that the Ministry will continue to provide purposeful leadership towards the actualisation of the commitment to the clean-up, remediation and restoration of the polluted environment, not only in Ogoni land but the entire Niger Delta and beyond.
