Bodo community workers nominated for the Phase 2 Bodo clean-up and remediation project are being certified medically and for survival swimming with personal protective equipment (PPE) and personal floatation devices (PFD) as the first part of their preparation for the remediation activities.

This is to ensure that all workers have the requisite fitness levels and swimming abilities to function in the predominantly swampy areas and creeks requiring boat transport. Additionally, all operational personnel will be trained to Level 1 of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) while supervisory staff will be trained to Level 2.

BMI conducts a Security Plenary Meeting

The 800 workers assigned in sets of 200 to the 4 remediation contractors are being contacted to ensure that they participate in the swim testing which began in mid-September and will be concluded in October.

Simultaneously, the selected base camp for remediation operations is being prepared near Patrick Waterside (numuu Tekuru) in Bodo. Community satisfaction has notably risen with the expectation that the project is finally getting underway.

Swim test safety induction

About BMI

In 2013 the former Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Bert Ronhaar, took a personal interest in the Bodo case and he sought to assist in bringing about the clean-up, remediation, and restoration of oil impacted sites in Bodo. His consultation with the Nigerian government, SPDC, and the Bodo community led to the establishment of the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI) which was set up to oversee and mediate throughout the clean-up project.

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For more information on the phase 2 Bodo Clean-up/Mediation Initiative. Please contact:

Email: bmicommunications2@gmail.com  | Twitter: @BMI_BodoCleanup |  Facebook: BMI Bodo Cleanup