By: Felix Ikpotor
The apex socio-cultural organisation of the Ogoni people, KAGOTE has called on the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to expedite action on its mandate of cleaning up oil polluted sites in Ogoniland.
The body gave the charge Monday, when it paid a familiarization visit on the Acting Project Coordinator, Professor Philip Shekwolo in his office in Port Harcourt.
KAGOTE’s Vice President, Chief Priscilla Vikue who led the delegation said they have come to know how far the agency has gone in the remediation process and to encourage the project coordinator to do more.
“What we are here to say is that we want to encourage him to do more and to expedite action on the mandate he’s been given because we are expecting more. We are also impressed with the water project he has started,” she said.
She expressed the hope that if the mandates given to the agency by the federal government is actualized speedily that it would discourage youths of the area from going into artisanal refining and re-pollution of the environment.
Vikue added: “If the mandate is done speedily, it will dissuade our youths from vandalism, you will not hear of artisanal refining. The reason it’s still on is because our youths don’t have work and they are poor; they need all other things of life that other people have”.
The KAGOTE Vice President also used the medium to urge Ogoni youths to desist from vandalising government properties in their localities.
“We are also using this opportunity to call on Ogoni sons and daughters that they should stop vandalising any of the equipments provided by government because it’s all for our own good,” she stated.
The KAGOTE delegation also pledged to support the agency in actualising its mandate.
Earlier, the acting project coordinator of HYPREP, Professor Philip Shekwolo gave an account of what the agency have been able to achieve within the last few years of its inception.
He stressed that the agency has five major mandates which is to remediate all oil impacted sites in Ogoni, restore portable source of drinking water, provide sustainable source of alternative livelihood, carryout an inventory of the impact of the pollution on the public health of the people and to stop all forms of oil spill that would affect the impact of the clean-up.
Shekwolo expressed hope that with the support of KAGOTE and Ogoni people the agency can achieve all it’s mandates.
On what the agency has done so far he said, “the first set of contracts for remediation which was awarded in 2019, we have 21 lots in all the local government areas, of this 21 lots, about 18 has been completed. 3 are still having issues because of terrain and community challenge”.
“The second batch of contracts came up later part of 2019 and they started work in 2020. That set had 29 remediation contracts and so far about 17 have been completed and 5 certified clean while the rest are undergoing certification process”.
He also informed the delegation that the agency had carried out livelihood programmes in conjunction with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UNITAR, where over 400 Ogoni women were trained in agricultural business and six water projects lots which was launched this year amongst others.
The acting project coordinator informed that more water lots would be awarded in the coming days to increase the number.
He complained about the vandalisation of its water facilities in Alesa community in Eleme local government area and urged the community people to own up the projects and protect it as it’s for their own good.
