Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to the success of the Ogoni clean-up project, assuring of continuous funding of the project.
Shell’s Head, Corporate Relations, Nigeria, Mr. Igo Weli, gave the assurance at the workshop on Detailed Site Characterization, Remediation Strategies and Framework Development, organised by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, in Port Harcourt.
Weli, who disclosed that SPDC JV was providing 90percent of the funds for the implementation of the UNEP Report in Ogoniland, urged stakeholders to avoid distractions by focusing their energy on how to make progress on the project.
According to him, there was no challenge-free clean-up process anywhere in the world, urging the people to focus more on how to resolve challenges that may arise, in order to make progress on the project.
“Let’s focus on how to make progress together. Let’s not spend too much time on challenges, let’s not get too many stakeholders who do not have our interests into the process. Let’s not distract ourselves.
“On behalf of the Country Chairman of SCiN, Osagie Okunbor, we want this cleanup to succeed. We are going to keep paying all the money we’re supposed to pay as a JV and give all the support that we can.”
Similarly, SPDC Manager, Ogoni-Shell Project, Mr Vincent Nwabueze, said SPDC was happy to be part of the process, which whose aim was for cleaning up of oil impacted sites in Ogoniland.
Nwabueze also cautioned against the re pollution of areas already cleaned by HYPREP in Ogoniland.
“The dimensions of works as recommended in the UNEP Report cover areas that keep the environment clean, provide livelihoods, water to the people and carrying out of health studies to be able to determine the impact of the spills on the health of the people and provide means of providing the health services required to support the human system in Ogoniland.
“I remain humble by the processes we have begun in multiple dimensions, the interests and the stakeholders we have to manage to get to this point.
“Just like the ex-Minster Amina Mohammed said that it is our desire to clean up Ogoniland, but we have a challenge to ensure that Ogoniland remains clean after the clean-up.
“So it’s our responsibility as stakeholders to pull our energy and resources together to making this happen.”
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