– HYPREP assures diplomatic community of sustainable projects
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has lauded the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, over the ongoing implementation of the UNEP Report in Ogoniland and applauded the progress being made.
To this end, the High Commissioner has expressed optimism that the HYPREP model would be emulated and replicated in addressing environmental concerns in other parts of the Niger Delta, and even around the world.
Montgomery speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, after a visit to HYPREP Coordination Office where the Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey briefed him on the activities and achievements of the Project, said his visit was to avail him the opportunity to follow-up on the project and learn from it.
The diplomat further said the British government would follow up on the progress of the Ogoni project, while applauding the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey and his team, on the progress achieved so far on the job.
He said, “This is a really impressive project, a complex one. Professor Zabbey has given me an impressive briefing and I am so impressed with has been done. I think what is being done here is a model that we can all learn from and it will have significance beyond Ogoniland and the rest of the Niger Delta, but also potentially in other areas of the world.
“I have come here to listen and learn and understand the way this programme is being implemented and the commitment made both to Ogoni people but also from other institutions including the Federal Government and the oil companies; and my understanding is there is a system of monitoring in place and that is something which is the responsibility of the Nigerian government and also its relationship with communities.
“We will be following and looking to understand how the project is progressing in the coming months and in the coming years. Again, I want to pay tribute to Professor Zabbey’s team, they are doing a hard work, it is a complicated work. I come away with a good deal of positive optimism that real progress is being made and more is possible.”
Also speaking, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who commended the High Commissioner for the visit, assured the diplomatic community that the Project was in safe hands, as he pledged commitment to delivering sustainable clean-up and restoration of Ogoniland.
Zabbey said HYPREP was contributing to peace and security in Ogoniland through the myriads of its ongoing projects, noting that the recruitment of 500 environment vanguards to provide civil security and intelligence gathering was a deliberate measure to adopt a non-kinetic approach to protecting project facilities and engendering community participation.
He listed the ongoing projects to include the provision of potable water in Ogoniland, 39 land remediation and 34 shorelines remediation, nine mangrove restoration, 5,000 livelihoods training, construction of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, construction of a 100 Bed Specialist Hospital, Construction of the Buan Cottage Hospital, the Ogoni Power Project, etc.
According to him, HYPREP was playing a major role in climate change mitigation through its mangrove replanting programme – one of the largest undertaken in the world which would cover over 3,000 hectares, adding that HYPREP was partnering with the Rivers State Government to ensure the sustainability of its projects including the potable water and 100-bed specialist hospital.
“The visit of the High Commissioner is important to us, and we are grateful that they (British government) have sustained their goodwill. While we solicit for their support, I want reassure the diplomatic community that my eyes are on the board, and we’ll deliver a sustainable remediation and restoration of Ogoniland.”
The HYPREP boss further affirmed the federal government commitment to the Ogoni clean-up project, and clarified that UNEP, the technical partner on the Project will be around for another six months following the extension of their engagement which elapsed in 2023.
He explained that the United Nations Office for Project Services will be providing support for the Project especially in the area of procurement, however, hesitated that HYPREP was proposing a hybrid technical support that will have UNEP still providing technical support given their institutional knowledge.
