Despite the enormous resources and manpower made available since 2012, Mr Nninmo Bassey, Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has expressed concern about the delay in the remediation of the polluted portion of Ogoni land.

Bassey, an environmentalist, expressed regret that the area had not been cleaned up under the successive leaderships of the Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP (a commission charged with the cleanup effort), in a statement signed by HOMEF's Media and Communication Lead, Kome Odhomor, on Friday.

He exhorted Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, the recently appointed HYPREP Coordinator, to get started right now by making sure that the Ogoni land and other villages affected by oil exploitation and exploration are cleaned up as soon as possible.

While expressing faith in Prof. Zabbey's abilities as an academic and activist, Nninmo stressed that time was of the essence because things were becoming worse by the minute.

He exhorted Zabbey to utilize his position to push for a thorough examination of the Ogoni region's health and environmental conditions as well as those of the whole Niger Delta.

The statement said, “The clean-up of Ogoni has taken longer than necessary despite the resources and manpower made available. In 2012, the Nigerian government established the Hydrocarbons Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to help with the clean-up of Ogoni land and impacted communities.

”We applaud the appointment of Prof. Nenibari Zabbey. Who has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important research in the area and the wider Niger Delta region. This appointment coming 12 years after the UNEP report should signify a turning point in the sluggish manner by which the clean-up has been approached.

“We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the oil and gas industry to begin a comprehensive cleanup of the Niger Delta region and take coordinated action to end all forms of pollution including through gas flaring.”

Bassey also called for regular consultations during which predicted milestones are revealed and achieved goals are discussed, as well as transparency, focus, and engagement of all pertinent stakeholders in the operations.