The Federal Government has handed over additional 36 sites to contractors for remediation of the impacted sites in Ogoni land as part of the ongoing clean up exercise.
Minister of Environment, Mohammad Abubakar, while handing over the sites, said that the Ogoni Clean-Up Project is one of the biggest projects in the world therefore all hands must be on deck to make it work.
He made this known to reporters in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State during the handover ceremony.
The handover of the additional 36 sites marks the commencement of Phase One Batch Two of the remediation of polluted sites in Ogoni land. This brings the total number of sites so far handed over to contractors to 58.
The Minister, therefore, called for total support from the people of Ogoni in order to make the cleanup project successful.
He, however, urged the contractors to put their expertise to bear in line with the specifications of the United Nations Environment Program, UNEP, report.
Also Read: Katsina State plants 8 million trees in 5 years
With the high level of unemployment among the majority of the youths in the region, stakeholders at the handover ceremony appealed to the contractors to carry them along.
A representative of the contractors, Mbea Charles, promised that they would execute the project in line with international best practices.
The Minister, who visited the palace of His Royal Highness, Philip Obele, was given a chieftaincy title of Mene Finor Eleme I, meaning the king of clean up of oil in Eleme land.
