Nigeria sets up oil pollution review body

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan created a special body to review UN findings on extensive oil pollution in the Ogoniland region.

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday created a special body to review UN findings on extensive oil pollution in the Ogoniland region and propose remedies, a statement said.

The committee will “undertake a holistic review” of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report and “make recommendations to the federal government on immediate and long term remedial actions,” the statement from the president's office said.

UNEP said in the August 4 landmark report that decades of oil pollution in Ogoniland may require the world's biggest ever clean-up.

It called on the oil industry and the Nigerian government to contribute $1 billion (690 million euros) to a clean-up fund for the region that activists say has been devastated by pollution.

Restoration of the region could take up to 30 years, UNEP said.

The study of the effects of pollution in Ogoniland, part of the Niger Delta, the country's main oil-producing region, follows a two-year assessment by UNEP.

Its report marked the first major attempt to scientifically document the effects of oil pollution in the region of mainly farmers and fishermen.

The government committee, to be headed by Oil Minister Diezani Allison-Madueke, is to submit its report to the president within two weeks, the presidency statement said.

It includes at least four others ministers, senior government officials and the managing director of the state-run oil giant, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.

The ministers of oil and environment submitted a preliminary report to the president on Wednesday, the statement said, leading to the decision to create a special commission. - Sapa-AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/nigeria-sets-up-oil-pollution-review-body-1.1120194

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