Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The federal government has commenced the second phase of its free medical outreach in Ogoni communities as part of activities put in place for the implementation of the United Nations Environment Report on Ogoniland.
The Project Coordinator, Hydrocarbon Pollotion Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil, while flagging-off the programme at the weekend, said the overwhelming success of the first phase of the outreach held in Bori, Kana LGA on 26th December, 2017 got the attention of President Mohammadu Buhari who was touched by the poor living conditions of the Ogoni people due to the degradation of their environment by oil exploration, and therefore approved another round of medical intervention to reach more people.
The Director of Press, Ministry of Environment, Saghir el-Mohammed disclosed this in a statement issued recently in Abuja.
Dekil stressed that as a result of the intervention, many who for years had agonised under painful but treatable medical conditions because of limited access to health facilities or lack of the financial wherewithal to treat such conditions, were attended to.
He revealed that while the medical outreach is going on, plans are underway for the provision of potable water through the reconstruction of existing water facilities in the land and the construction of new ones to fill the supply gaps in the communities.
He however explained that HYPREP Health Outreach Programme explaining that it precedes the remediation of impacted sites.
“Presently, the publication for invitation for pre-qualification of contractors for remediation of hydrocarbon impacted sites in Ogoniland is in some national and international dailies. The exercise will be the culmination of all the processes we have put in place right from the inception of the Project Coordination Office in March, 2017,”
“The remediation of Ogoniland will be done only by experienced and best hands locally and internationally so as to achieve the desired results of restoring the environment back to an acceptable standard”.
“We will in the coming weeks launch the HYPREP Livelihoods Intervention Programme to give new sets of skills to Ogoni women and youths to enable them create wealth for themselves, their families and their communities”, Dr. Dekil stated.
