Nigeria president Jonathan, to set-up oil pollution review body

“The committee will be headed by Oil Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke.”

In response to the UN reports on the Ogoni oil spill, President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday said in a statement that a special body will be set-up to tackle oil pollution in the region.

According to the statement, the set-up body will “undertake a holistic review” of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report and “make recommendations to the federal government on immediate and long term remedial actions”.

The committee, which will be headed by Oil Minister Diezani Allison-Madueke, is to submit its report to the president within two weeks, the presidency statement said; and would include four ministers, senior government officials the managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.

On August 4 UNEP analysed the damage oil pollution had done in Ogoniland and stated that: “The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world’s most wide-ranging and long term oil clean-up exercise ever undertaken.” It proposed an initial $1 billion fund to kick-start the work and the total restoration could take up to 30 years.

UNEP’s report marked the first major attempt to scientifically document the effects of oil pollution in the ogoni region that is made up of mainly farmers and fishermen.

-By ADAEGO OGBULAFOR 

Source: DailyTimes

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