Group demands probe of $1bn Ogoni Clean-up project

Peter Olaniyi |

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) is demanding the probe and sack of incompetent contractors involved in the $1billion Ogoni Clean up in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

Recall that United Nations Environmental Protection (UNEP) Agency has earlier in a report recommended that the Ogoniland be cleanup through an investment expected to gulp about $1 billion.

Executive Director of the Centre, Auwal Ibrahim Musa also known as Rafsanjani, who made this demand at a regional capacity building for environment editors in Lagos Nigeria, alleged that the first phase of clean up scored miserably below average on accountability and active operationalisation of the $360 million already alloted to the phase.

Stating that the political elites in the Niger Delta, and the National Assembly are not doing enough to vet the progress, Musa declared that all Niger Deltan and Nigerians should demand for the right thing to be done.

“COVID-19 has further exposed how terrible Nigeria officials are. Some of Nigerian officials have told us they did not know how dilapidated the health system is until this pandemic broke out and caged them inside with that same health system they have failed to developed” he said.

Commenting on a Score Card report released by CISLAC and Cordaid, the CISLAC boss said; “The study accesses the progress of the Ogoni cleanup project within the context of Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP’s) activities, quality assurance and quality control, and the inputs of the Federal Ministry of Environment in the process.”

Corroborating Rafsanjani’s view, conflict advisor, CICSLAC; Mr. Salaudeen Hashim, said that the HYPREP’s claim that it had achieved 70 per cent completion in first phase of Ogoni clean up is a “lie from the pit of hell.”

“The agency just bought Prado and Hilux for board of members. I charge journalists to verify the claims. HYPREP has no project vehicle as we speak. Five vehicles, which were inherited from former HYPREP are all laying down.”