As part of its resolve to reduce restiveness in Ogoni land, the federal government has flagged off Water Projects and handed over sites to the contractors in Ogoniland in Rivers State.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Ibrahim Yusufu, who spoke at the flagging off ceremony, assured the Ogoni people that the developmental projects would continue to impact positively on the socio economic development of the area.
The project commissioned by the Permanent Secretary included, the Barako Portable Water Scheme which has storage capacity of 500 cubic metres of clean water, as it is expected to provide free, safe and quality water to all households in Ogoni and its environs
According to him, commissioning of the projects was the second bunder of the six-lot projects in the first phase of Emergency water intervention for Ogoni Communities.
He said efforts were being intensified to cover more milestone in the HYPREP implementation framework, stressing that, it has become exigent to find lasting solutions to challenges of theft/vandalization of projects and incessant sponsored agitation which he noted over the years encumbered the procurement process and effective delivery of emergency and livelihood support projects in the area.
The permanent secretary further explained that, apart from the remediation process, the Livelihood programme was aimed at providing portable and accessible water to the Ogoni community and ensuring the provision of other amenities to cushion the effect of the pollution.
He said that the Ministry has put more efforts in delivering the emergency intervention projects as part of the remediation process in Ogoniland
He therefore presented certificates to Fourteen Contractors for the construction of another14 portable water systems to cover 52 communities and to fast-track the other aspect of the livelihood programme.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Ogoni Trust Fund Incorporated, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Nwielaghi Barieenee Michael, advised the people in the area to always channel their grievances through the right channel, and not HYPREP as a whole.
Dr. Suanu T. Y. Baridam, Gbenemene, Bakana Kingdom, and Spokesman to the Ogoni Specialist Hospital thanked HYPREP and the Project Manager for making the project possible for the Ogoni people in record time.
He urged for more HYPREP projects that are community oriented and can provide job opportunities to the Youths in Ogoniland.
