Top Politicians And Technocrats In Niger Delta Jostle To Control Ogoni’s $1bn Cleanup Fund

Some top politicians and technocrats from the Niger Delta have begun lobbying President Muhammadu Buhari to be on the team that will manage the $1 billion Ogoni restoration funds, New Telegraph learnt at the weekend.

The Federal Government has fixed the inauguration of the governing council and Board of Trustees (BoT) to manage the funds for October.

Shell, the Federal Government and other stakeholders are to contribute to the funds for the cleanup, which the government is expected to spearhead through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP).

A source at the presidency confided in New Telegraph that the board of HYPREP, which will manage the fund, is billed to be inaugurated in October. He said intensive scheming was ongoing by politicians and technocrats from the Niger Delta region for appointment into the board and governing council.

The UNEP ‘Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland’ was released in August 2011, but since then nothing has been done towards its implementation. Buhari, the source said, approved several actions to fast track the implementation of the UN report on the environmental restoration of Ogoniland and “this inauguration is one of the cardinal steps towards this action.”

He said: “As we speak, many politicians and technocrats alike from the Niger Delta region are scheming seriously to be a part of the board.
It is expected that this will happen, but the Ministry of Environment has the task and clear direction from the presidency to be careful in getting men of integrity on the board.” The UNEP had recommended in the report on the environmental restoration of Ogoniland that 76 actions should be taken on the restoration; 50 actions for government; 22 for Shell and four for the community.

“The representatives of Shell and Ogoni community have been called for a meeting by the ministry on the instance of President Buhari where robust engagements on how to fast track the cleanup were made. It was at this meeting that the government was told that the lack of governing council and board for HYPREP has been delaying the government action on the cleanup, and the president ordered the inauguration, which will come up in the first week of October,” he said.

General Manager, Communications, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Igo Weli, confirmed that his company and other stakeholders attended the meeting.

He, however, stated on the sideline of a meeting with journalists in Lagos at the weekend that his company had completed 16 out of 22 actions given to it by the UNEP report while works were ongoing for the completion of the remaining six. He added that his company was waiting for the government and the host communities to complete the remaining six recommendations. “SPDC welcomes the leadership shown by President Buhari in setting up governance structures for the implementation of the UNEP report. We are greatly encouraged by the positive and constructive response from representatives of the community, Niger Delta NGOs and civil society.

This is an important step forward and SPDC is determined to play its part in maintaining the momentum. “However, as the UNEP report stated, treating the problem of environmental contamination within Ogoniland merely as a technical cleanup will ultimately lead to failure. Ensuring long-term sustainability is a much bigger challenge; one that will require coordinated and collaborative action from all stakeholders.

“This must include an end to the widespread sabotage, crude oil theft and illegal refining that are the main causes of environmental damage in Ogoniland and the wider Niger Delta today. Shell companies in Nigeria will continue to be at the forefront engaging interested stakeholders and seeking sustainable innovative ways to resolve the problem,” Weli said in a presentation to journalists He had earlier said the road to implementing the reports’ recommendation had been bumpy, adding that to complete the cleanup would be tough, except there is cooperation among all stakeholders in the project.

“To get to the destination is going to be very tough. I have to be sincere with you, it would be tough. We are dealing with many stakeholders whose actions and reactions border on the success of our intervention and participation. We will get there, but it will be very tough,” he said.

He said out of the 470 incidents documented along the SPDC Right of Way (RoW) in Ogoniland, “368 have been remediated, 32 are at various stages, while 70 are outstanding of which 40 are in Bodo community. “Shell has completed the physical verification of assets in Ogoniland covering delivery and flowliness, manifolds, flow stations, compressor stations, gas and burrow pits,” Weli added.