The Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP) has called on residents of Ogoniland in Rivers State to support the ongoing execution of six water projects in the area.
HYPREP’s Project Coordinator, Ferdinand Giadom, made the call in Alesa Eleme, Rivers, during his inspection tour of the water project sites on Thursday, May 19, 2022.
The then Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, had in March 2021 flagged-off phase one of the project in four local government areas in Ogoniland – Eleme, Gokana, Khana and Tai.
Giadom said the Federal Government had come up with a sustainable plan to ensure the ongoing water project served Ogoni people for decades to come.
He said: “The reason for the project’s sustainability is that it is one thing to provide water and another for the water to subsist.
“The essence of these is to look at a sustainability plan that would serve both the needs of the present generation and future generations of the Ogoni people.
“So, all hands must be on deck to install a system that will sustain the standard of portable drinking water.”
The project coordinator gave the assurance that all water facilities across the four local government areas would be of the same standard.
“We will ensure that the quality of water is up to the standard of the World Health Organisation (WHO) drinking water limit, and that will be consistent in the future.
“The future we are talking about is not five years or ten years, but maybe 20 years and far beyond that,” he added.
Also speaking, a water governance expert in the inspection team, Prof. Johnson Otu, lauded the speed of the project and called for its sustenance.
He said the team, however, noticed some technical issues that needed adjustment to ensure the water scheme met its desired target.
“We will discuss the technical issues with the contractors so that things can be put rightly in shape for the future sustainability of the project.
“Overall, HYPREP is on the right path of delivering the project for the good of the Ogoni people,” he said.
By Desmond Ejibas
