Nearly four years after the Federal Government flagged off the Clean-Up of Ogoniland, the exercise has commenced in communities ravaged by decades of record oil spills.
Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, says no fewer than 57 sites in Ogoni are being cleaned up currently.
Abubakar made the disclosure while speaking with State House correspondents on Wednesday in Abuja, adding that he had presented a report on the ministry’s mandate to a meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
Abubakar said: “The Ogoni cleanup in the past has been a story. Finally, President Buhari came in 2016 and the contract was given out.
“We are currently cleaning 21 plus 36 sites in Ogoniland. All these are impacted areas with hydrocarbon — a very big project.
“The world is watching this project because of the nature of hydrocarbons and what they can cause to the environment and the people living there.”
Speaking on the prospect of creating jobs through the cleanup, the minister said the Ogoni cleanup had created 765 jobs, adding that more jobs would be created through the cleanup.
He said: “We have the National Generator Emission Control Programme that will be coming online. These are jobs that will be crated immediately after COVID-19.”
The Minister said planting of 25 million trees was also on the front burner and that the ministry was collaborating with state governments on the project.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Environment was one of the implanting ministries of the 774,000 jobs approved by the President.
He said: “So, those skilled and unskilled labours are coming through the ministry.
“About 200,000 people will be employed plus additional 2,000, who are going to be employed by the erosion department of the ministry.”
