- The Federal Government said it will soon release the first instalment of $10million US dollars to begin the process of cleaning up areas devastated by oil spills in Ogoniland.
- Actual dates for the disbursement of the money is not yet disclosed, but there were indications that the funds would be largely deployed for logistic arrangements, including setting up of a board of trustees to manage the implementation of the clean-up.
- An estimated $1.04billion dollars would be required to effectively clean-up the entire oil spill areas in Ogoni land,according to a recent assessment report by the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP).
- Beyond the expected funds,stakeholders who attended a roundtable to assess the implementation of the UNEP recommendations in Abuja on Tuesday,suggested the review of the NOSDRA Act 2006 to incorporate responsibility for environmental contamination to a separate government agency.
- They also expressed fears that there might be fresh crisis if the community members are not carried along when the funds are eventually released, hence the convening of the forum.
FG Ready To Release First Instalment Of $10m for Ogoniland Clean-Up
