Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Fourteen years after the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, released its groundbreaking assessment on Ogoniland, Nigeria’s flagship environmental remediation agency, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, has announced significant milestones in the ongoing cleanup and restoration efforts.
With over 7,000 direct jobs created, potable water extended to 30 communities (set to rise to 42), and more than 5,000 Ogoni youths and women trained in 20 skill sets, HYPREP says it is delivering on its promise to transform environmental despair into a future of opportunity and resilience.
Enuolare Mba-Nwigoh, HYPREP’s Head of Communications, said “In remediation, we have completed and obtained NOSDRA’s closeout certification for 50 lots in the simple-risk sites. The ongoing remediation of medium-risk complex sites is 38% complete. Phase 1 of shoreline cleanup and mangrove restoration stands at 56% and 93% completed, respectively.”
According to Mba-Nwigoh, these milestones reflect a “people-centred, sustainable and fit-for-purpose cleanup programme in Ogoni,” made possible through the proactive strategy, inclusivity, and bottom-up implementation model introduced under the leadership of Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, HYPREP’s Project Coordinator and and the supervision of the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal.
The cleanup, initiated in response to UNEP’s 2011 report which outlined the devastating environmental and health impacts of decades of oil pollution in Ogoniland, is now evolving into a model for post-pollution recovery.
“Notable physical developments include, Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, at 90% completion! Ogoni Specialist Hospital at 86% completion; Buan Cottage Hospital at 98% completion; Ogoni Power Project (Phase 1) over 40% complete; Four additional mega water projects to launch soon, expanding water access to 42 communities.
“The implementation of the UNEP report’s recommendations by HYPREP has made its spirit and letter a reality, expressing and interpreting its tenets in ways that place the people at the core,” Mba-Nwigoh stated.
Beyond infrastructure, HYPREP said the project has become a driver of socio-economic transformation.
“The Ogoni Cleanup programme is revolutionising the socio-economic landscape, empowering people and families, contributing to peacebuilding and security, and improving the Human Development Index, while aligning with almost all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
“We are building collaborative partnerships across strata, including the development of technical and administrative frameworks to achieve a sustainable cleanup programme,” HYPREP noted.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, has declared the Ogoni Cleanup a Presidential Priority, a move that HYPREP says has accelerated the pace of progress and ensured that the benefits directly reach the people.
“We are further encouraged by the fact that the Ogoni people are benefiting from the full range of deliverables, and are active participants, working closely with HYPREP for effective project delivery,” the statement added.
However, the agency called for continued support from host communities and stakeholders.
“Community support remains the lifewire of the Ogoni Cleanup project. We kindly implore that this support be maintained. Communities should continue to provide a congenial atmosphere for project activities, protect the facilities and desist from acts that would re-pollute the environment.”
