A total of 57 companies and contractors are currently working on the clean-up of Ogoniland in Rivers State, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency has said.
The agency stated this on Wednesday, adding that contrary to claims that the clean-up would drag for 30 years, the actual duration for the project as planned was five years, barring unforeseen circumstances.
The agency’s Director-General, Idris Musa, disclosed this at an interactive forum in Abuja and stated that the clean-up was a reality and not a mere story as being speculated in some quarters.
He said, “If anybody is in doubt as to whether the clean-up of Ogoniland is still a story or reality, I will invite them to pay a visit to any of the four local government areas in Rivers State that are in Ogoniland.
“Ogoniland spreads across four LGAs and when it comes to its clean-up I know much because up until March this year, I was there as head of operations for the clean-up.”
On the number of companies that were cleaning up the affected areas in Ogoni, Musa stated that over 50 firms and contractors were either on the ground at various sites or were carrying out procurements.
He said, “Right now, as I speak to you in this room, there are 21 different companies and contractors working in Ogoniland. Also, in process or by way of procurement, we have another set of 36 procurement processes going on, in addition to the 21.
“And this means that by the end of this year, we will have about 57 different companies working in Ogoniland and that is to tell you that the clean-up is a reality.”
According to him, the clean-up in the four local governments affected by the oil spill would only take about five years.
He said, “I have read in the newspapers and saw experts on television who say that it will take 25 to 30 years to clean up Ogoniland. I want to state here that that is not correct. Even if it is the entire state that is polluted, it will not take 25 to 30 years to clean. The correct answer is that it will take about five years as planned. Note that the five years is for oil impacted sites in Ogoniland.”
