The head of Operations Overseeing the office of Project Coordination of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Prof. Philip Shekwolo has said it was not true that the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP) has taken over the execution and implementation process of the Ogoni Clean up exercise.
Speaking to journalists in an interview on the sideline of a one-day summit with the theme: ” Creating A Practical Template Towards Managing the Challenges in Oil and Gas Host Communities”, organized by Coalition of Rivers Oil and Gas Host Communities in Port Harcourt, today, Shekwolo explained that UNEP only gives support to the project as quality assurance and control unit, adding that it also provides technical support and advisory on communication.
” UNEP continuous to support HYPREP as a quality assurance and control unit because they wrote the report. They give us technical support and advisory on communications. It is just that support they give. They are not taking over any part of the execution or implementation process. HYPREP handles 100 percent of the implementation process”, he said.
Speaking further, the head of Operations said it was also not true that contractors have not been on site since he came on board.
” That is not true, all contractors on the 29 remediation project in batch 2 are all working. The remaining contractors in batch 1 are also working. They are all working. Just three of them that are remaining. If you go round you will see them working. In fact, we are having a meeting on Wednesday to assess their performance”, he noted.
Furthermore, Prof. Shekwolo disclosed that HYPREP will soon commence the public health inventories and studies as recommended by UNEP.
” The public health inventories, Investigation, studies is going to commence very soon with support of World Health Organisation (WHO) under UNEP arrangement to help us get the data that is required to see the inventories of exposures of people to hydrocarbon emissions and that is what UNEP report recommended”, he pointed out.
