Coalition of Civil Society on the Ogoni Cleanup (CISOC) in collaboration with Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), have called on Hydro Carbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to immediately commence the implementation of the livelihood component of the United Nation Evironmental program (UNEP), report.
The group made the call recently in a meeting to assess the emerging issues in the clean-up including the recent HYPREP handing over of the clean-up sites to contractors.
The coalition, which accused the federal government agency for abandoning its core mandate in Ogoni clean-up exercise as recommended by UNEP, report expressed worries that HYPREP unethically ignored the idea of building the integrated contaminated soil management centre.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Coalition, Comrade Young Kigbara, informed that HYPREP has neglected the UNEP recommendation that stipulated that priority should be given to sites where affected communities are at high risk.
According to him, there is a great sense of urgency with the issue of livelihood as its obliterating value chain has among other things occasioned low school enrollment in Ogoni as women and men whose livelihood means were destroyed gets poorer.
He further expressed worry that HYPREP has unethically deferred the idea of building the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre or the On-Site Mini Treatment Centre as recommended by the UNEP experts, which were antecedent to the actual clean-up.
Mr Kigbara stated that the coalition has among other things resolved that “HYPREP should immediately start the implantation of the livelihood component of the programme stressing that as its mandate, it has the potency to forestalling re-pollution of the environment, which is presently being carried out through illegal crude oil theft and artisanal refining of crude oil in Ogoni.
CISOC also urged HYPREP to immediately move into the affected communities to adequately sensitise them or preferably contract the business of sensitising communities to the Civil Society Organisations that are well versed with the disposition of the Ogoni to do so while ensuring that clean-up starts from the sites with high risk to the communities.
