The National Assembly Joint Committee on Host Communities has reconvened the Minister for the Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, to present the status of the Ogoniland Cleanup Project.
Joint committee chairman Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo gave the directive in Abuja on Tuesday, in an interactive session with the Ministry of Environment and the project’s management committee.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that neither the minister nor the permanent secretary appeared before the committee; instead, a representative of the minister, Charles Ikeah, was present at the hearing.
Disgusted by the minister’s absence from the meeting, Mr. Degi-Eremienyo said: “We had extended the invitation to the minister, who is the chairman of the governing council in Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) but has not appeared before the committee.
“The coordinator of the HYPREP project was also invited, but has not appeared before the committee.
“This is not the first invitation. If he is not going to be able to attend this meeting, he should have communicated it himself or through the permanent secretary before today”, he said.
The president said he took his failure to be at the meeting as a slight and high level of irresponsibility.
“I fully express my disgust. He frowned at the attitude of the minister and also the coordinator of the project by showing constant disrespect and contempt for the institution of parliament.
“We have invited them about three times and they evaded engagement with parliament.
“For me, it is an appearance of withholding information to disable us from going to the effective fulfillment of our duties as a parliament, to monitor the activities of HYPREP.
“It also shows the appearance of incompetence, the appearance of bad governance; shows appearance of callousness,” she added.
However, the legislator praised the federal government for continuing to clean up Ogoniland as recommended in the UN report.
“The story of degradation and pollution in the Niger Delta is an old story, but it is always fresh. It is always fresh because the situation and the experience continue unabated in the Niger Delta. It is very unfortunate.
“This project is very important for the people of the Niger Delta. It is a pilot project that is supposed to be replicated in other parts of the Niger Delta, but apparently it is not working in the way that it is expected to work.
“It is on that note that I, as chair of the committee, also give my endorsement and support to the motion that the minister and of course the project coordinator and project management team be called to appear before this joint committee. . ,” he said.
House Committee on Host Communities Dumnamene Dekor said the minister’s absence from the forum was highly regrettable.
“Program and project design is also treated lightly.
“It is shocking that the project coordinator is not here as well. As we summon them, people should know that those who remain in and around the Niger Delta are still languishing.
“This project took off because President Muhammadu Buhari felt that it should take off, and that the suffering of the people will be alleviated and it has been almost six years and there is no ongoing activity,” said Dekor.
(YAYA)