Kick Shell Out of Ogoni Cleanup Bodies!
Gentlemen and ladies of the press I want to thank you for your sustained reports on the Ogoni drama which has inspired Nigerians and the international community to demand that the Nigerian government go beyond words in the cleanup exercise in Ogoniland.
In our midst are grassroots groups and representatives of the impacted people of Ogoniland, whom I want to commend for their patience in the face of glaring violations that continue to test their wits and push them to the limits of endurance.
Without mincing words I must say that we are all witnesses to the spectacle that has been playing out since the cleanup exercise of Ogoniland was flagged off in June 2016 by the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
Even though the exercise at the time drew wide acclaim, most of you can recall that ERA/FoEN was quite skeptical and did not mince words to express our reservations. We had warned that the exercise lacked some very key ingredients including structures such as the governing council, the Board of Trustees and the management of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) that were expected to drive the clean-up process.
We had also express worry that while the UNEP ‘Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland’ report had recommended that the government and Shell contribute $1 billion over a five-year period to undertake the clean-up, the government body language did not show it was committed to committing any tangible sum to the process nor compelling Shell to do same.
Two years on, we can see that even though we now have a governing council, the polluter was invited to sit in their midst and continues to call the shots and slow the processes. No tangible sum has been committed to the clean up as we speak. Surprising as that is, there are more baffling tales. One very disturbing development occurred in December 2017 when the federal government in cahoots with governors from the 36 states’ approval gave approval for the immediate withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excesses Crude Oil Account (ECA) to facilitate the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.
What could be more ironic?
The same government that has failed to make contributions to the clean-up fund save for the $10 million start up fund that it gave to HYPREP to commence its activities smoothly is ready to pump a whopping $1 billion into an insurgency that it had “technically” won. This is strange to us and the international community that is keen on seeing tangible progress in relieving the Ogoni people of a Shell-imposed burden.
The pledge of the Norwegian government to support the cleanup process when its Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens Petter Kjemprud visited impacted sites in Ogoniland recently shows the frustration of the international community over the drama going on here.
Kjemprud had remarked that the world was interested in the ongoing clean-up of Ogoni, and that Norway, as one of the biggest donors of the United Nations, was also committed to the safety of Ogoni People.
Apart from the fact that HYPREP management has been denied the funds that would enable it implement the clean-up of Ogoniland, the body has been unable to put together a well thought out work plan and budget for the clean-up process. There is the need to quickly enhance the capacity of HYPREP management in this respect but in the short term it would be important to hire experts that have coordinated such multifaceted and complex undertakings before.
We have said it time and again that Ogoniland represents an entry point on the issue of environmental remediation and restoration in the entire Niger Delta.
ERA and her partners are desirous of supporting an adequately resourced HYPREP and will work to ensure that the agency delivers on its very important mandate of cleaning up Ogoniland and building the template for the clean-up of the rest of the Niger Delta region.
In view of the above, ERA makes the following demands
1. Shell Petroleum Development Company be immediately removed from the governing council, the board of trustees and other structures of the clean-up process to allow for the independence of the agency and in line with the polluter pays principle
2. HYPREP be sufficiently resourced by the Nigerian state and Shell immediately by paying the $1 billion clean-fund to the accounts opened by the Board of Trustees. All stakeholders who are to contribute funds to the Ogoni Environmental Restoration fund should publicly declare their contributions before the 7th anniversary of the submission of the UNEP Ogoniland Environmental Assessment report.
3. The Nigerian government must act with dispatch on raising the $1 billion Restoration Fund just as it did with the North-East Development Commission which went through the legislative process in record time and to which it is making huge contributions.
4. A 2018 HYPREP strategic work plan should be prepared and be made available publicly for inputs and suggestions. A website that would have full information on contracting and procurement should be up and running so that the public is aware of the contractor/consultant handling a project, project sum, duration and the expertise and relevant experience of the contractor
5. HYPREP discountenances the use of RENA in any of the remediation sites that would be worked on. RENA is inappropriate in our environment and has caused more harm to our communities.
6. Shell and other oil companies such as RoboMichael and Belema oil whose activities have been pitting Ogonis against eachother and overheating Ogoni polity be cautioned and desist from such acts and allow the clean-up process to proceed without distractions.
7. ERA proposes that $100 billion be set aside to be invested for the clean-up of the region within the next 25 years.
Like we said some weeks back, this is a crucial year that the Ogonis and Nigerians expect the first drop of oil to be cleaned up properly so that restoration work can commence. The federal government cannot afford to fail the people in its legacy project. The time for concrete actions is now. The time to kick Shell out of the steering committees and bodies to presiding over the cleanup exercise can no longer be delayed.
Speech by Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria at a press conference to assess state of Ogoni Cleanup process