THE National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) has demanded that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) should tell Ogonis how it spent the $10-million so far released for the cleanup of Ogoni land, even as the Secretary to the Governing Board of HYPREP, Marvil Dekil, has responded that only a fraction of the disbursed amount has been expended.
President of NYCOP, Dr Young Nkpa, Speaking in Port Harcourt at the weekend challenged HYPREP to publish the work plan for which it has demanded additional N200-million for the project. The youth council also appealed to SPDC to show sincerity and commitment in the release of fund to the Ogoni cleanup project.
“NYCOP demands accountability as to the $10-million so far disbursed for the clean up by governing council of HYPREP. If you are not prudent in $10-million we wonder what will happen to $200-million. The Ogoni people demand to know the work plan for the $200-million on demand. A detail project analysis and implementation model needs to be drawn and made public.
Shell on its part should show commitment and sincerity of purpose on the issue of remittances. NYCOP will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet their physical force with soul force.”
The NYCOP President also said Ogoni youths will resist every attempt to resume oil exploration in Ogoni land without the full implementation of the UN report on the cleanup of Ogoni land.
“Needless to becloud our position with coagulated semantics. We hereby make bold to declare that any effort to resume oil exploration without full implementation of the UNEP report first and adequate recognition of NYCOP will be met with stiff unrelenting position comparable in terms with the sweeping force of a hurricane.”
But in a response, the Secretary to the Governing Council HYPREP, Marvin Dekil, said it was not true that HYPREP has spent $10-million but just a minute fraction of the money, about N277-million.
Dekil stated; “I have the responsibility of disbursing these funds only with the approval of the committee and also based on work plans that we have initiated. I can specifically tell you as project coordination office, we have only accessed a minute fraction of the money.
As we speak what has been disbursed to us is about N277-million and the rest of the money is intact. Until further approval from the Governing Council is secured we will not be able to access anymore”.
The Resident Coordinator of HYPREP said that contrary to speculations, work on the cleanup of the Ogoni polluted sites is on course stressing that the cleanup involves phases that must be followed accordingly.
“And when people say that nothing is happening, the project requires planning, and a lot of desk work which are all ongoing, so hitting the field as the people will like it is exactly the last phase and that can only happen when you have put in place all the procedures and processes that gives you a very clear remediation plan,” he added.
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