HYPREP Pledges FG’s Commitment to Ogoni Cleanup

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has assured of the federal government’s commitment to the cleanup and restore the polluted sites in Ogoniland, in Rivers State.

This was as the agency revealed that it would soon commence the remediation of over 3300 hectares of land heavily affected by oil spill in the area.

HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, made this disclosure yesterday, while speaking at a one- day national roundtable organised by the Peoples Advancement Centre, held in Port Harcourt.

Zabbey, who stated that the agency has set up all necessary structures required for the successful execution of the project, assured that the government would deliver on the mandate given on the project, adding that plan was ongoing to plant 5 million mangroves on Ogoniland.

The HYPREP boss further emphasised that the federal government has provided all the funds needed for the cleanup of Ogoniland, assuring that the HYPREP under his watch would carry out a remediation that would stand the test of time.

Zabbey said: “As it stands today, I can assure you that funding is not a problem. The federal government is highly committed to the Ogoni cleanup and other stakeholders like the international oil companies are also committed.

“We want a cleanup that will be driven by the Ogoni people and that is owned by the people. I think we are making good progress on the clean-up.”

Zabbey, also disclosed that HYPREP has completed works on low risk sites and had begun works on medium risk areas, adding that it has 39 sites in the category.

He noted that experts have been sent into the sites for characterisation and contractors mobilised, adding that it would also commence planting of mangroves in Bomu Community, Gokana Local Government Area, soon.

“There are 39 land remediation in medium risk sites that has to do with soil remediation and ground water remediation. Contractors have been mobilised to site and they are on with characterisation.

“We are going to plant Mangroves in Bomu. Our team went out and said there are mangroves already sprouting out in Bomu. It means that the pollution in the area has gone down,” he said.

He added that HYPREP would be recruiting 500 youths for the security surveillance of clean-up sites and other facilities in Ogoniland of Rivers State.

Earlier in his address, the Coordinator of Peoples Advancement Centre, Celestine Akpobari, said there was need for the Civil Society Organisations to support HYPREP and act as a watch dog to ensure its (HYPREP’s) mandates are achieved under the current coordinator.

Akpobari said: “We have gathered here today brainstorm to see what to get out of a bad situation. Our environment has been written off. What do we do?

On his part, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Mr. Chima William, promised that the CSOs would provide oversights to the project as it deserved, noting that solution to speedy Ogoni cleanup up lied with Zabbey as a former Civil Society member.