The Federal Government says it is planning to make critical changes on Ogoniland clean up with intent to accelerate the pace of the project.

Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, disclosed this while inspecting some of the 21 remediation sites in Alode, Eleme Local Government Area, Rivers on Friday.

Abubakar said the Federal Government was worried at the slow pace of work by contractors handling the remediation sites.

“We know that work is going on but there is need for comprehensive review and changes that must be undertaken. We must make some changes for the project to be on track so that we can finish the project as at when due. Going by what we have seen the project is not going to be completed at the stated date,” he said.

Abubakar said that he decided to visit the sites to see first hand the progress of work as well as ensure the newly-hired contractors did not face obstacles at sites.

He said some changes that would be made included procurement and timelines for the remediation.

“In our recent meeting with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva, Switzerland, we both agreed to reassess the project. We intend to do this as quickly as possible”.

“We must ensure the project is done according to specifications for the clean up to succeed. President Muhammadu Buhari is clear about this. We all know UNEP’s capabilities, and as such, we must follow their recommendations to avoid derailment in their specifications,” he pointed out.

The minister solicited for more support from residents of areas to make the project a success.

Abubakar had on Thursday handed over 36 smaller remediation sites to contractors in addition to the 21 old sites.

Ogoniland comprises four local government areas in Rivers, including Eleme, Gokana, Khana and Tai.

Recall that in 2011, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) submitted a report to the Federal Government on Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland. Today, that document is popularly referred to as the “UNEP Report” among stakeholders and it estimated that decontaminating Ogoniland could cost a billion dollars (880 million euros) and take 30 years to complete.

The report contained detailed information on the assessment which covered contaminated land, groundwater, surface water, sediment, vegetation, air pollution, public health, industry practice and institutional issues as well as recommendations and steps to be followed in carrying out the clean-up exercise.

On 2^nd June 2016, the Federal Government officially flagged-off the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) with the mandate to Remediate the Environment and Restore the Livelihood of the people.

(NAN)