Environment
Stakeholders Seek Health Audit of Residents in Ogoni Oil Spill Area
By Gom Mirian, Abuja
Concerned individuals of Ogoni ethic nationality of Rivers State have raised the alarm for the need to carry out an emergency health audit of residence in the area.
Comrade Nnimmo Bassey, Founder, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) raised the concern Saturday, during a virtual conference organised by Cordial Strategic Partners on review of process for the implementation of the UNEP report in Ogoniland.
Nnimmo said many residents were suffering from different ailments due to exposure to the polluted environment, saying the audit would help to find out the cause of the alleged sicknesses in the area.
“It is important to note that the global COVID-19 pandemic is impacting more heavily on people who have underline health issues, when you live in a contaminated environment, you are already exposed to infections of the deadly virus.
“This is the reason why there ought to be health audit in the environment of the baseline in the ogoniland community to understand what is killing the people and what needs to be done to remedy the situation.
“We have seen health mission outreaches, but have not really seen the health audit and this is what needs to be done. He said. Comrade Nnimmo, who is also a Member of Board of Directors HYPREP, said HYPREP saddled with the mandate to implement the UNEP’s recommended report was also charged with the responsibility to enhance local capacity for environmental management, strengthen government management and accountability in the region as well as ensure full recovery and restoration of Ogoni environment.
He, however, admitted the delay in the implementation of the UNEP report by HYPREP, explained that the responsibilities are quite cumbersome, due to long number of years damages caused on the land time is required to get the job done.
According to him, one $1 billion was contributed by the joint ventures partners and other players in the environment over a period of five years, adding that joint ventures were to contribute 90 per cent of the expected funds, while Refineries and local operators would contribute 10 percent.
He said so far two tranches have been received from the joint venture partners for the year 2018 and 2019, saying nothing has been received from the Refineries and local operators.
“Considering the amount of work done, and the contracts given out, the money available is sufficient to cover the scope of work, so finance is not an issue at this point except that we are expecting the tranche for 2020 to come into the pulse.
” This money is not seating in the offices of HYPREP, the money is been held by the Ogoni Trust Fund, a fund set up by Ogoni Board of Trustees where the people are heavily represented in the management of the funds.
” Unep reports shows the extent of pollution of the soil ground waters contamination to the depth of 5 mitres, when one of the lots in Eleme area was excavated we found that pollution has actually gone to 7 mitres depth which means that every year of delay it would still get more entrenched, so there is need to hasten the process.
“Ogoni is a laboratory where remediation is been tested for clean up in the Niger Delta region, he disclosed.
Comrade Celestine Akpobani,National Coordinator of Ogoni solidarity Forum, an ogoni activists On his part, applauded HYPREP for the feat achieved so far in the implementation process.
According to him, it required a lot of struggles to speed up the process of the project, due to heavy community influence on the project.
He, however, called on HYPREP to step up on communication to ensure that both community and stakeholders are carried along in the process.
Environment
Prolonged Public Holidays Come with Negative Economic Effects on Citizens – Anambra Residents
Anambra residents have slammed the additional day approved by the Federal Government for the Muslim faithful to celebrate the 2024 Eid-Ei-Fitr, saying this will have negative effects on the economy.
The Federal government had early declared April 9 and 10 as Muslim-Ummah for the successful completion of a month’s spiritual rejuvenation.
Reports says that residents of Anambra capital city believe that the additional day which they did not plan for will result in economic hardship to the citizenry.
Most respondents believe that people had planned to resume their economic activities instead of wasting their time staying at home doing nothing..
Former Chairman, Awka Chamber of Commerce, Chief Felly Akosa, described the additional day to the two days approved earlier as “unfair to the economy of the country as people were unprepared for the additional day.
Akosa said that although it is right for the Muslim faithful to celebrate their holiday after a month-long fasting, the process needs to be carefully planned for in place of the additional rest day which could inhibit business activities.
Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, National Vice President of Igbo Apex Social Cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the policy would cause huge economic waste as businesses are put on hold,
He advised that, in future, a proper and well planned programme needs to be in place before declaring a public holiday for any celebration that will be national.
“Our economy and other sectors are not very healthy,” and it would, therefore be appropriate to plan well to avoid declarations that will hamper the citizens’ welfare.
Mazi Christian Beluchukwu, a business man in Awka, described the extension of the Eid-El-Fitr public holiday to Thursday, April 11, as an added hardship for the citizenry.
Beluchukwu said that any public holiday for three days, April 9 to 11, to celebrate any feast in the country is an economic loss to the nation.
He said that it was best to stick to the two-day national public holidays as this gives room for the people to plan their activities very well.
He stated that his wife went to a public hospital on Tuesday and was unattended to because there was no doctor on seat to provide medical attention.
“She resorted to visiting a private hospital which cost extra money which the public hospital is expected to handle at a reasonable cost. (NAN)
The Jos Water Services Corporation (JWSC) has said that the World Bank fund received would be used to boost water supply to Bukuru and environs in Jos South Local Government Area.
Mr Apollos Samchi, the Managing Director of the corporation, said that N1.7 billion would be expended on the rehabilitation of water treatment plant, over head steel tank and laying of pipes to homes of consumers.
Samchi, who disclosed this on Friday in Jos, during a two-day capacity building workshop, said that the projects were expected to be completed in four months.
Reports says that the workshop organised for contractors has at its theme: “Implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for Projects in Jos South.
The MD said that the projects would ensure steady provision of potable water to residents in Gyel and Kurgiya in Jos South Local Government Area.
He said the treatment plant when rehabilitated would pump out 5,000 cubic litres of water daily.
The MD further stated that the reticulation exercise would cover residents who weren’t initially connected to public water supply in the area.
Samchi said that the essence of the workshop was to ensure that the contractors were trained to develop adequate measures and controls to minimise and mitigate potential environmental and social risks that could adversely affect the project implementation.
He called on all the contractors handling the projects to ensure that they adhered to the environmental and safety standards and deliver within the specified timeframe.
In his remarks, Mr Jonathan Malann, the Plateau Project Coordinator, Sustainable Urban, Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (SURWASH), also advised contractors to adhere to the environmental and safety standards as provided by the World Bank.
The Federal Government had received $700m financing from the World Bank to ensure that all its people have access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services.
The seven participating states are Plateau, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Katsina, and Kaduna.(NAN)
The Gombe State Executive Council (SEC) has approved payment of N389 million as compensation for residents that would be affected by the gully erosion control project at Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical and its surrounding communities.
The Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Malam Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.
Magaji said the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.
He said almost 1000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.
According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.
Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.
“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost a 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.
“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they are able to have good livelihood,” he said.
The commissioner for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.
Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.
She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools were already being upgraded to global standards.
“We have seen construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed a N12 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within Gombe metropolis.
The project is under ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria. (NAN)
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