MOSOP to Fed Govt: Account of $800m fund set aside for Clean Up of Ogoniland

By Akinola Ajibade

Controversy has continued to trail the cleaning of Ogoniland in Rivers state, as the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, advised  the  Federal Government to give account of $800million earmarked for the exercise. 

The government is believed  to have allocated the fund to its agency known as  Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, for the job.

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, had during six years anniversay of the official flag-off of the Ogoni clean up programme in Port Harcourt, urged the government to tell the sons and daughters of Ogoniland how the money was spent.

There is little or nothing done so far,he said,adding that “not much has been achieved but corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement”

He alleged that despite receiving over $800million for the cleanup programme, the Nigerian authorities have been unable to make any positive impact in Ogoni.

He said it was inconceivable that “as common as drinkable water could not be provided for the Ogoni people”. Nsuke further said an investigation commissioned by HYPREP indicated that underground water in the entire Ogoniland has been contaminated.

He added that the water crisis in Ogoni is an emergency but unfortunately has not been taken seriously.

He accused HYPREP of rushing to award cleanup contracts without basic necessities because “its management was desperate to loot the funds while the fundamental issues demanding urgent attention were being neglected.

He said:”HYPREP has received over $800million (Eight Hundred Million United States Dollars) and an additional NGN6 Billion (Six Billion Naira) for water supplies. What we have seen is bribery and looting of the cleanup funds.HYPREP ought to be ashamed and the government itself should see today, six years after it flagged off the cleanup programme, as a day exposing its tolerance for the looting and corruption going on in HYPREP.

“Sometimes, I feel there is some compromise compelling the government and anti-corruption agencies to turn their eyes away from several alarms and complaints coming from the communities and people who have consistently said the cleanup is only on the pages of newspapers and where some work appear to be going on, what they are doing is to cover the spill sites with heaps of sand”

He advocated the need for a thorough investigation to be conducted into the activities of HYPREP if the cleanup programme can be rescued.

He said the Ogoni people have lost confidence in the cleanup project and demand a halt on further funding for the project, noting that the monies are not committed to the work of cleaning Ogoni.

“We want the government to halt further funding for HYPREP. It is important to check the financial mismanagement in HPREP. The government will also need to further commence an investigation into the activities of HYPREP and ensure that the gaps are significantly closed before funding for activities can resume” Nsuke said.