NASS wants increased awareness on Ogoni clean-up

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Senator Hassan Mohammed Gusau, has called on the management of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to rev up its awareness campaign on the rudiments involved in the implementation of the Ogoni cleanup .

Senator Gusau, who led the Senate and House of Representatives

Committee on Ecology and Climate Change on a fact-finding visit to the project sites of HYPREP, said an enhanced awareness campaign would put the people of the affected communities to understand the project and erase the wrong impression that it is not doing anything in the areas.

The senator said an enhanced citizens knowledge on the clean-up exercise would also lead to a proper understanding of the processes involved in the remediation.

“There should be enough publicity on what you are doing so that people will be educated and understand the type of project your agency is doing. A lot of money has been injected in the project."

He advised HYPREP to increase the pace of work in the clean-up exercise to meet up with the targeted time of delivery.

Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, a member of House of Representatives Committee on Ecology and Climate

Change expressed dismay that the people of Ogoni have lived with polluted environment for a very long time and called for quick action to enhance total remediation of the impacted sites.

Earlier, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Barinem Dekil, said out of 29 lots (impacted sites), 7 lots have been completed.

He listed the completed sites to include Oboolu Ebube, Alode Nkeleonken 5, Alode, Mogbo Deben, Bara Akpor Botem, Korokoro Buemene, adding that the completed sites are undergoing certification by NOSDRA.