By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The Federal Government has called for increased donor funding and private sector participation to sustain the ongoing environmental restoration of Ogoniland under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project.
Speaking at a donor facilitation conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said the Ogoni cleanup programme required long-term financial, technical and international support.
Lawal said the project, built on the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme report, had recorded major progress, including the remediation of polluted land, provision of potable water schemes, livelihood support programmes and ongoing healthcare projects in affected communities.
He added that the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration under HYPREP was nearing completion and would serve as a postgraduate research institute for environmental remediation.
Despite the progress, the minister said funding remained a major challenge and appealed to development partners, donor agencies and private organisations for more support.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Trust Fund, Emmanuel Deeyah, said the UNEP report recommended that oil companies contribute $1bn every five years over 30 years for the cleanup exercise.
“We have done 10 years now and we have not even received the full $1bn that was supposed to be contributed.
The refineries and local operators have not contributed a dime,” he said.
