FG Using Unqualified Contractors For Ogoni Clean-up – Wike

By Chuks Ekpeneru

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Federal Government of using unqualified contractors to execute the Ogoni Clean-up project.

Wike stated this when he received the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar at the Government House, Port Harcourt

He said that the Ogoni clean-up exercise can only succeed when the Federal Government stops playing politics with the programme.

The governor noted that no tangible milestone had been achieved since the project commenced in 2016.

He said: “I am not happy that the Rivers State government is not part of the clean- up exercise. Nobody has ever briefed the state government. The programme has been politicised.

“The only way the programme will work is when we all work together. The programme is not working because they see it as politics. They are using unqualified contractors to execute the project,” Wike stated.

“It’s unfortunate that no tangible effort has been achieved. Handing over remediation site to contractors does not mean the work has been done.

“Since 2016 till date, it’s the same story because the people are from this part of the country. It is unfortunate. The Federal Government is supposed to come up and say that they have been able to achieve about 30 percent of the clean-up in Ogoniland.

He also said some Ogoni sons were part of the hindrance to the successful clean-up of Ogoniland.

“I support the clean-up, but the Rivers State government will not do what it doesn’t know. Also, the lack of clean-up of Ogoniland is caused by Ogoni sons and daughters because of politics. I challenge Ogoni sons to tell the world if they are satisfied with the clean-up exercise in Ogoniland,” he said

Earlier, the Minister of Environment, Abubakar, said they were in the state to handover additional 36 remediation sites to contractors as part of the clean-up exercise.

He lauded the state governor for demonstrating strong commitment to the Ogoni clean-up exercise since the inception of the programme in 2016.

He added that 400 women in the area would also be trained to be part of the clean-up exercise at the Rivers State Songhai Farm.

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