Baring last minutes changes, the long awaited take off of the Ogoni oil spills, is expected to take off in two weeks time.
Federal government and International oil companies ( IOC), BusinessDay gathered at the Presidential Villa, Wednesday have raised the total sum of $180m about N55b, which is currently domiciled at the They have mobilized $180 million, at the Standard Chartered Bank of London
The fund, according to the Minister of Environment, Usman Jibril, is currently being managed by the Ogoni Trust Fund Board of Trustee.
“You ask whether there is funding, yes, of course there is funding. Again this is the first time the government has done something. Because of the confidence that the oil companies have in the government, because of the governance structures that are put in place, the opening of the Ogoni Trust Fund will be able to mobilize a hundred and eighty million dollars from the oil companies. Right from the NNPC, SPDC and the ventures”
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“So, the next two weeks those five lots will be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval.
“I can assure you that we are on course and there is no going back on the Ogoni clean up. This is the first time that the Federal Government has put a machinery in place, no government in the last 30, 40 years of oil pollution has done what this government is doing now.
He recalled that the President made a promise in 2015 and charged his Ministers to actualize that promise.
“ We took up the gauntlet, we put all the governance structures in place, we did the governing council, we did the Board of Trustees, we did the project coordination office and got a project coordinator to put in place.
He disclosed that government advertised the contract in the most transparent way right from the month of March, adding that more than 400 firms, both national and international, have expressed interest.
“We shortlisted after the technical evaluation and got 183 and these the companies that were qualified to bid and pick the financials attached therein and they did that, it has been ongoing for couple of weeks now and it has been concluded and therefore I can confidently tell you that before the end of this month, in the next week’s, there will be 21 companies that will be mobilized to site to start the work.”
