Ogoni Students, CDHRAC Demand Disbandment of HYPREP

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Ogoni – American Organisation’s National Union of Ogoni Studentship (NUOS) and Center for Democracy Human Rights and Anti Corruption (CDHRAC) have called for the disbandment of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

The groups made the call in response to the decision of the United Nations Environmental Programs (UNEP) that gave it a failing grade “for its poor, unprofessional and unethical supervision of the ongoing UNEP clean up in Ogoniland.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the officials of both organisations including the President of NUOS, Mr. Pius Barikpoa Nwinee, Secretary General of NUOS, Mr. Sampson Npimnee, Acting Coordinator of CDHRAC, Mr. Deekor Adokor and Secretary General of CDHRAC, Mr. Toate Ganago.

“We therefore urge the Federal government of Nigeria to disband HYPREP immediately, and further stop HYPREP from putting bandage on the pandemic to defame our land and contract the service of international remediation firms with professional experience and technical know-how capacity to handle the cleaning of the ongoing Ogoni cleaning project.

“NUOS and Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) are committed to advancing the UNEP cleaning in Ogoniland.

“We are aware of the recent UNEP publication in Bloomberg dated August 30, 2022 distancing itself from HYPREP and the Royal Dutch Shell’s cutting corners and unprofessional practices of hate, chaos, betrayal, injustice and attempted impropriety to sabotage the cleaning project so as to permanently endanger and extinct Ogoniland and her enclaves,” the statement read.

The organisations added in the statement that NUOS and MOSOP’s position in the matter is clear and unambiguous. 

It read: “While we do not oppose oil resumption in Ogoniland, we also want to state categorically and unavoidably that HYPREP improper and inadequate usage of harmful chemicals to breach or defame our land is not a guarantee for oil resumption in Ogoniland, so the Nigerian government should be aware.

“The UNEP publication or UNEP take down of HYPREP’S refusal to hire capable experience professionals with technical and complex knowledge with best practices and the situation on ground all demonstrate the urgent need to change course of action to safe Ogoniland and further Nigerian oil exploration. 

“We urge the Federal government of Nigeria to negotiate with UNEP to hire or contract the service of international firms with professional experience and technical know-how capacity with recent track records in environmental deforestation, coastal erosion and ecosystem remediation to take over the clean up so as to jump start Nigerian oil resumption prospect and defend our national security protection.”

The groups contended that no amount of visit to London laboratory or facility by HYPREP or the Ministry of the Environment will change the fact that HYPREP and the Ministry don’t have what it takes to cushion Shell’s decades of pollution.

They stated that they believe that Shell and HYPREP’s  “eleven years of big lies, half truths, no truth and inactions is enough and it is time to chat a new course to restore Nigerian economy and Nigerian national security.”

It was added in the statement that they also believe that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and that it is time to stop and further stop the “Royal Dutch Shell from corrupting and manipulating the project putting Shell profit ahead of Nigerian national security.

“Despite the Royal Dutch Shell’s lip service claims of “anti bribery policy” and yet, Shell has continued to manipulate HYPREP to hire local companies with no professional experience to cause more ecological destructive and pandemically uninhabitable in the area.”

According to Prof. Philip Shekwolo, the purported argument made by HYPREP that they are using $35 instead of $100 expected by international firms is baseless because the entire cleaning was cost in dollars.”

The group stressed that they have also further found that rather than Shell to contribute money and allow the cleaning to take its course, “Shell has fraudulently lobbied HYPREP to hire its former employee, Philip Shekwolo to manipulate HYPREP not to hire international firms to fall back to its old styles before UNEP study.

“HYPREP and Shell have repeatedly ignored and abandon UNEP suggestions, instead blaming and scapegoating Ogoniland and Ogoni people as if they are perpetrators of their own victims instead of Shell taken accountability of its decades of oil theft.”