The federal government has warned that any security threat to the clean-up process for the oil impacted communities in Ogoni land in Rivers State will be resisted.
Speaking at a sensitization meeting in Port Harcourt, the Minister of Environment, Ms Amina Mohammed, charged the people of Ogoni land to ensure security for the exercise.
As the federal government and the Rivers State government work together for the execution of the clean-up exercise recommended in a UNEP report, the meeting was convened to ensure the interests of all those affected are represented in the clean- up process.
The Minister explained that part of the clean-up would include a post clean-up programme that would restore better livelihood for the people.
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), at the request of the federal government, had conducted an independent assessment of the affected communities and made recommendations for remediation.
The UNEP report was accepted by many residents of the Ogoni community and government decided to use the report as a starting point in the clean-up process.
According to the UNEP report, there are over 200 oil-impacted locations across Ogoni land and the full environmental restoration of the community will take between 25 and 30 years.
The government is asking the people to be patient while the exercise lasts.
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to launch the activities for the clean-up process by June 2, 2016.
