For the first time, a meeting on Ogoni clean-up was held in Ogoni land, courtesy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, South-South, Hon. Gift Johnbull, hosted stakeholders in Bori, Rivers State, to discuss the impact of the clean-up.
The meeting which was codenamed ‘Na my Area, Na my Country: Climate Resilience and Adaptation in South-South Nigeria’, is an initiative in Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ aimed at bringing the government closer to the people.
This initiative is to ensure that the Renewed Hope Agenda is actualized in every village, creek, community and city in the South-South states.
The Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement to President Bola Tinubu, South-South, Gift Johnbull, said the focus was on inclusion and collaboration to ensure lasting peace and development in the area, pointing out that the clean-up is expected to affect the lives and livelihood of the Ogoni people positively.
She said the Federal Government would address the challenges and bottlenecks hindering development in the area.
“The President has established robust governance frameworks and accountability mechanisms to ensure transparency, effective resource allocation, and meaningful community involvement in the clean-up process.”
Speaking, the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, stated that the implementation of the remediation of the Ogoni environment is going smoothly, saying the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, has certified 48 of the sample sites remediated to be free of hydrocarbon pollution.
In his remark, HRM Suanu Baridam ( King of Gbenemene Bangha Kingdom) advised the presidency to give more powers to the HYPREP Project Coordinator to be able to make decisions in the project, noting that the over-dependence on Abuja for every programme is affecting the project.
The meeting was hailed as a success, with community dwellers praising the presidency for engaging with them directly. They expressed confidence in the administration’s quick responses and Hon. Johnbull’s approach, which they said made the president’s intentions clear.