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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), yesterday, called on the National Assembly to increase its oversight functions in the clean up process in Ogoni land before the project collapses from its present cauldron of ineptitude, high wire politicking and corruption.
ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, made the call while speaking with newsmen in Benin City.
He said the fate of the Ogoni people and the over 31 million people that call the Niger Delta home hangs in the balance in this decade of ecosystem restoration as declared by the United Nations.
Dr. Ojo said the federal government environmental legacy project which is the clean up of Ogoni land with commitments of millions of dollars must not be allowed to fail.
Ojo opined that states that in consonance with global standard of “polluter pays principle” Shell and the other multinational companies should pay to enable independent and competent experts undertake this multi-disciplinary scientific and community building exercise.
Ojo warned that Shell should neither be on the governing council nor on the board of trustees or occupying the project coordination office superintending a process they failed at when they had the opportunity.
The Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, said they had expressed grave concern in their 2020 report No Cleanup, No justice that HYPREP coordination office lacks basic expertise in all areas that was similar to the 2021 report.
He alleged that HYPREP has tried unsuccessfully to deflect attention from the grave concerns that were raised in their 2020 and 2021 reports about the atrocious failure of the scoping exercise conducted by it (HYPREP) that led to the continued presence of hydrocarbon contamination in groundwater at supposedly cleaned up sites.
He further said ERA/FoEN, is calling on HYPREP and the public to study the evidenced-based reports that the organization has produced over the last eight years.
