Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — A coalition of environmental and civil society organisations in Rivers State has strongly defended the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, and its Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, describing recent protests against the agency as a smear campaign designed to undermine ongoing environmental restoration efforts in Ogoniland.
The groups, speaking through Mr. Michael Gbarale at a press briefing in Port Harcourt, dissociated themselves from what they described as a “faceless group” allegedly led by one Muekara Monday, which recently staged a protest in Abuja accusing HYPREP of non-performance.
According to the coalition, the allegations against HYPREP and its coordinator do not reflect the realities of the Ogoni cleanup programme, insisting that significant progress has been recorded under Zabbey’s leadership.
“Our attention has been drawn to a smear campaign targeted at Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, the HYPREP Coordinator, by one Muekara Monday who claimed to be acting under the auspices of Ogoni CSOs,” Gbarale said.
The coalition maintained that while HYPREP may not have fully completed its mandate, expectations of a total restoration of the Ogoni environment within three years are unrealistic given the scale of environmental devastation documented by the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP.
“The UNEP Report clearly stated that it would take over 20 years for remediation and cleanup to be completed. Therefore, any fair and unbiased assessment of the project under Prof. Zabbey cannot find any justification to dismiss his efforts as a failure,” the groups stated.
They noted that independent monitoring by civil society organisations has shown tangible progress in remediation activities, shoreline cleanup, mangrove restoration, potable water projects, health interventions, and livelihood support programmes across Ogoni communities.
According to the groups, dozens of remediation sites have been certified, shoreline restoration has advanced significantly, while millions of mangrove seedlings have been planted, resulting in the gradual return of fish, periwinkles, and other aquatic species to previously degraded ecosystems.
The organisations further highlighted major infrastructure projects being executed by HYPREP, including the nearly completed Ogoni Power Project, the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration which is said to be over 90 percent completed, the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital currently nearing completion, and the fully completed Cottage Hospital in Buan.
They also cited HYPREP’s training of about 5,000 women and youths in 20 skill areas and the construction of more than 50 water facilities serving 46 communities as evidence of the agency’s expanding social impact.
“Prof. Zabbey has moved the Ogoni cleanup from rhetoric into a steadily progressing process. He has broadened HYPREP’s mandate beyond environmental cleanup to include vocational training, public health programmes, scholarships, water access and environmental education initiatives,” the coalition stated.
The groups pointed to the recent designation of the Ogoni mangrove wetlands as a Ramsar Site of International Importance as further validation of the restoration efforts being undertaken under HYPREP.
Supporting the position of the coalition, Executive Director of the Lekeh Development Foundation, Mr. Friday Nbani, warned against actions capable of distracting the agency from its mandate.
“Any attack on HYPREP is an attack on the Ogoni people. This is the hope of restoration, of remediation, of bringing back the loss and damage that we have suffered in Ogoni,” Mbani said.
He urged aggrieved individuals and groups to pursue dialogue and advocacy before resorting to protests, while calling on Ogoni people to unite behind the cleanup programme.
“I want to advise my brothers and sisters of Ogoni, enough is enough. We must not be fighting ourselves. We still have a lot to go for. We need to demand actions, strategy to get funds in the Loss and Damage Fund to clean our land,” he added.
Nbani, however, urged HYPREP to continue strengthening transparency and accountability mechanisms. “I will also appeal to HYPREP to be open. Be open for transparency and accountability,” he said.
The coalition, which includes Society for Women and Youths, SWAYA; Environmental Rights Action, ERA; Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre; Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development, CEHRD; Rainbow Watch and Development Centre, and several other organisations, called on the public to disregard the allegations against HYPREP and allow the agency to focus on its environmental restoration mandate in Ogoniland.
