It also said contracts had been awarded to facilitate six water projects in the area, while 400 Ogoni women had graduated in various small businesses, including agriculture, aquaculture and poultry.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmoud, disclosed this at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
Fielding questions from reporters, he stated: “Just yesterday (Tuesday) we passed the budget of the Ogoni Cleanup otherwise known as Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP). It has got a lot of boosts.
“We have a brand new governing council. We have a brand new board of trustees and we are increasing the participation of the union. Ordinarily, they are technical support.
“And now, we want to involve them even further by making them like some kind of project management consultants. And also, we are looking at bringing in more indigenous people that will be part of this process. What we realise is, for any project to succeed, you must have the buy-in of the community.
“And so far, so good, I can tell you that the project has moved forward. We have about 17 contaminated sites that have been cleaned up and certified clean.”
He continued: “And then just recently also, we awarded contracts for six water projects.
“But we awarded that at about over N6 billion. Again, we’re working towards additional eight water projects that will be coming very soon. In fact, we just got the approval to advertise for that and also to go into the complex side.”
The minister added that the authorities were working on the simple side of the project.
“So, the project is moving fast. We are catching up on the little time we have lost in the last couple of years, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
