Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says construction of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, in Ogoniland has reached 92 percent completion, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s commitment to restoring the environment and livelihoods in oil-impacted communities.
Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, announced this during the opening ceremony of a three-day colloquium on the operationalisation of the CEER in Port Harcourt, describing the facility as a flagship project that will anchor research, innovation, and skills development in environmental remediation.
“The Centre is now 92 percent complete and is expected to be commissioned soon,” Prof. Zabbey said.
“The importance of the CEER cannot be overstated. It is designed to be an international hub for innovative research, training, vocational skill development, and sustainable environmental management.”
He noted that the CEER is embedded with the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre, ICSMC, another recommendation of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, which aims to serve as a repository of the Ogoni cleanup experience and a base for advanced remediation technologies.
Prof. Zabbey commended the Federal Government for making the Ogoni cleanup a national priority, saying the renewed policy direction under the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, had accelerated implementation across all project components.
“We are advancing firmly in remediation, potable water provision, health interventions, livelihood programmes, shoreline cleanup, mangrove restoration, and critical infrastructure such as the CEER and the Ogoni Power Project,” he said.
Former Head of the UNEP Team on the 2011 Ogoni Environmental Assessment, Mr. Mike Cowing, applauded HYPREP for fulfilling a key UNEP recommendation through the near completion of the CEER.
“In 2011, we at UNEP recommended the CEER so that all the expertise generated would become a repository for training purposes — to train Nigerians, Africans, and others facing similar oil impact challenges,” he said.
“I have worked across 15 oil-impacted countries, and none of them have the expertise you have here in Nigeria or an organisation as credible as HYPREP. Nigeria and HYPREP are leading the way in oil spill remediation in Africa and internationally.”
Echoing the same sentiment, Prof. Kirk Semple, Director of International Research at Lancaster University, said collaboration would be critical to the success of the CEER.
“The CEER becomes a shining light, a beacon of expertise and innovation across technology, societal and economic capacity building,” he stated. “My university is already in collaboration with HYPREP to help the centre succeed.”
Prof. Chinedu Mmom, Pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Environmental Technology, Ogoni, said the CEER will strengthen institutional linkages between academia and practical remediation work.
“We’re going to build collaboration between the university and the CEER because we both aim to build manpower and develop technologies that improve environmental quality,” he said.
“The colloquium provides a good framework to deepen our relationship with HYPREP and the CEER.”
Prof. Zabbey concluded that the CEER will provide advanced laboratories, academic programmes, technical certification courses, and policy platforms that will attract global expertise and create thousands of jobs in Ogoniland.
“When academic and skills development activities commence, local capacity will be built, jobs will be created, and Nigeria will take its place as a global leader in environmental restoration,” he assured.
Photo
Stakeholders and participants at the colloquium on the operationalisation of the Ogoni Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, in Port Harcourt
