By Franca Ochigbo, Abuja
The Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens-Petr Kjemprud has decried the slow pace of work at the Ogoni cleaning site, stating that the cleaning might not be completed anytime soon.
Kjemprud made this disclosure during a visit by the Environmental Media Correspondent Association led by the Chairman Chuks Oyema in Abuja.
The Ambassador laments that activities at the site are really slow. He said the reason for supporting the cleanup exercise was because of the devastating effects it has on human lives, as animals are not exempted.
He added that UNEP report is now seven years old, and since 21 contractors were mobilised to sites, work has not started.
According to him, “climate change is so enormous; at times a nation may not know where to begin and to end; coastal erosion in the south, and desertification in the north are great challenge for Nigeria.
“We discovered that lifespan in the area is average because the environment has been destroyed and polluted by oil. The people are having health challenge, and they are running out of patience.”
Also speaking, the Deputy Head of Mission, Ingrid Skjolaas, called on the media to visit the sites of the clean up to have first assessment and to give comprehensive reportage of what is happening to the project.
Earlier, the Chairman of EMCAN, Chuks Oyema had told the ambassador that the association was formed to report and deepen the coverage of what is happening in the environment generally.
He added, “In 2019, Norway increased support to UNEP, it is committed to 30 percent reduction in Green House Gas, GHG emission by 2020, a return to 1990 levels. We want to learn from Norway.”
