The much celebrated Ogoniland cleanup has been described as political project.
The senator representing Rivers East, Thompson George Sekibo made the assertion during the 2020 budget presentation of the Ministry of Environment before the National Assembly joint committee on Environment and Climate Change.
Trouble started when the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mahmud Abubakar highlighted the ministry’s 2019 budget performance and specifically listed some of the achievements to include Ogoniland clean up.
This didn’t go down well with Senator Sekibo who was sitting on the high table as member of the joint committee.
When it was Sekibo’s turn to make his contribution, he drew the minister’s attention to the core mandate on the establishment of the ministry.
He told the minister that Nigeria was blessed in terms of environmental hazards, adding, “apart from the ones we cause for ourselves, we have only few environmental issues”.
According to him, “we talk about erosion in the east and desertification in the north without the ministry having a road map to address the issues.
All they want to hear is that erosion in Nnewi has been resolved or that the ministry was working out a modality to solve the desert encroachment in the north. This is the expert advice the committee needs from the minister, but none came their way.”
Sekibo said the Nigerian government, particularly the Ministry of Environment “have no plan for remediation of the areas you have destroyed.”
Talking about gas flaring, he said after an agreement, the flaring continues by the companies.
“From 1958 till now, there is budgetary allocation for oil exploration activities and the areas are completely destroyed.”
He said the minister should visit Ogoniland with his top management and those of them in National Assembly would join him there for them to see things for themselves.
“I’m from Rivers State. All you are doing on Ogoniland cleanup is theory. You, the minister of state and the permanent secretary should come and see. Contractors have done nothing. The project was flagged off in September and it took one to two years before they appointed contractors.
“It’s a political project. There was going to be election in Rivers State. I don’t think they have done much.”
He said the government was talking about only Ogoniland instead of the entire South South that has been “devastated”.
Sekibo urged the minister not to carry on business as usual, but do it differently his own way to achieve desired results.
