THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its joint venture partners have disbursed $360million towards the Ogoniland clean-up project as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The partners are the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Total Exploration and Production of Nigeria (TEPNG) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Samson Makoji, said in a statement that Kyari was represented by the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mr Roland Ewubare.
The statement quoted him as saying that NNPC and its JV partners were up-to-date in their financial remittance to the clean-up project fund based on the UNEP framework.
“Ogoni clean-up is a massive issue and NNPC and its JV partners are ready to fund the project as prescribed by the UNEP Report.
“We have so far disbursed $360million out of the $900million recommended.
He noted that though NNPC and its JV partners were not responsible for the implementation of the clean-up, all stakeholders must ensure that the project was carried out successfully.
Kyari decried the misinformation about the Ogoniland clean-up and urged the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to ensure that the narrative was corrected.
A member of the House Committee, Aishatu Jibrin Dukku, praised the NNPC and its JV partners for their commitment to the Ogoni clean-up project.
He urged all other stakeholders to join hands with HYPREP to ensure the successful clean-up.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Habitat, Johnson Oghuma, expressed the lawmakers’ commitment to ensuring full implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland.
It would be recalled that the UNEP Report on Ogoniland clean-up had estimated initial clean-up costs of over $1billion for the first five years of a 25 to 30-year process. (The Nation)
