The Federal Government has called for increased private sector participation and donor funding to sustain ongoing gains in the Ogoni environmental restoration project under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project.
Speaking at a conference on donor facilitation and diplomatic support for HYPREP in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, stressed that the Ogoni cleanup programme was designed as a long-term intervention requiring sustained funding, technical support, and international cooperation.
“The project is supposed to be a lifespan project. We must move towards achieving its main aim, which is environmental restoration and sustainable development,” he added.
Lawal acknowledged the contributions of the United Nations Environment Programme, describing its assessment as the scientific foundation of the ongoing remediation efforts in Ogoni land.
“We are all here because of that UNEP report. It provided the scientific foundation for what has become one of the world’s most ambitious environmental remediation programmes,” he said.
