Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — In a significant boost to Ogoni cleanup, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says it has embarked on a major scale of projects, including remediation, water provision, healthcare strengthening, and livelihood programs.
According to the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, 130 projects are currently ongoing, with a focus on sustainable cleanup, ecosystem regeneration, specialist hospital, power, and Centre of Excellence for Environmental Remediation.
The HYPREP boss, speaking while addressing the youths of Ogoni who came to welcome him following his reinstatement as coordinator of the project by the Federal government, emphasised the government’s commitment to a sustainable cleanup of Ogoniland.
Zabbey was last Saturday removed as the Project Coordinator of HYPREP by the Federal government without any reason, and reinstated late Monday following protests by the people of Ogoni.
He said: “This is a busy period for HYPREP because we have 130 ongoing projects in the area of remediation, water provision, strengthening of hospitals and a lot of livelihoods programs.
“Under remediation alone, we have remediation of contaminated land, shoreline cleanup, and mangrove restoration going on concurrently. This has created a lot of jobs for Ogoni youths, about 7,000 youths have direct employment and we will continue to build their capacity to work elsewhere and also provide for the project.
“We have pockets of land-related issues in the communities; in the coming weeks we are going to train traditional rulers of Ogoni on alternative dispute resolution and strengthen their capacity to resolve and prevent conflicts, for stability in the region. One of the objectives of HYPREP is to promote peace and stability In Ogoni region.
“We have a lot of programs lined up and Ogoni youths are going to benefit, of course, the project is all about them. When we say the project is a sustainable cleanup, it is because it is not just benefiting the people that are here today, but generations to come.
“Because the ecosystem that is being regenerated environment will continue to provide for the people of Ogoni and those in the Niger Delta and to a large extent support generations of people in terms of livelihoods provision and healthy living.”
The HYPREP boss further thanked the youths of Ogoni for their support and ownership of the project, assuring all stakeholders of the federal government’s dedication to delivering a cleanup that the Ogoni people will be proud of.
“The federal government is highly committed to the Ogoni cleanup, recall that one of the priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda is the acceleration of Ogoni cleanup, and so Mr. President is determined to clean up Ogoni in a manner that every Ogoni person will be proud of the cleanup.
“Most of the projects being carried out have to do with resetting the environment, reducing oil to a level that can support the recovery of biodiversity, which will be followed by interaction as well as biochemical processes that will bring back ecosystem functionality.
“In the coming weeks all of us will meet in our usual quarterly interactive session to discuss how we are going to move the cleanup project forward. Be rest assured that we will deliver a sustainable cleanup in Ogoniland and something that all of us will be proud of,” he stated
