Alleged Mismanagement: Niger Delta Group Seeks HYPREP’s Probe Over Ogoni Clean-up
Sylvester Idowu in Warri
The Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas (CDC) has called on the federal government to investigate alleged mismanagement of Ogoni clean-up by Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, a body saddled with the exercise.
The group maintained that investigation of HYPREP became necessary following revelations by INDEPENDENT, a United Kingdom-based newspaper in its December 23, 2024 publication.
INDEPENDENT UK had published a report titled “Nigerian Agency ‘Failed Completely’ To Clean Up Oil Damage Despite Funding, Leaked Files Say in Nigeria” with an introduction “In Nigeria, the first part of a $1 billion project to clean up Ogoniland in the Niger Delta, where there have been thousands of oil spills, was a “total failure.”
Reacting to the report, Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas (CDC) said indictment of HYPREP in the report by INDEPENDENT newspaper based in United Kingdom, demands a probe of the organisation by the Nigerian government.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of CDC, Joseph Ambadekerimo, and issued yesterday, the group said it found the expose on the Ogoni clean-up and HUPREP as very unfortunate sending misgivings as a people who do not know what they actually want in the Niger Delta region.
“The reports well marshalled by the DAILY INDEPENDENT of London further confirms the endemic corruption that has once again bedeviled the good intentions of International Multilateral agencies.
“It is preposterous and mind boggling to find people whom trust is reposed on to have meted out this kind of unethical behaviour and taken undue advantage on the suffering of their own people to further their own self economic well-being”, it stated.
The group said it was appalled with the untoward scandal and called for President Bola Tinubu to suspend the leadership of HYPREP as soon as practicable and institute a probe to unravel all of the issues and corruption in the agency.
“We also call on the anti-corruption agencies to swing into action immediately and undertake a painstaking investigation into the financial dealings of the agency.
“A further call is also to the minister of environment to unravel the issues of use of substandard laboratories and employment of unqualified companies to do the clean-up.
“What has happened so far in the HYPREP has been there in the public domain, neither the Ministry of Environment nor the anti-corruption agencies have summoned courage to intervene until this report is coming out from the London INDEPENDENT Newspaper.
“It is worrying to see what Ken Saro-Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni Eleven agitated and died for, has now been rubbished. No doubt Ken Saro-Wiwa and others will be turning in their graves.
“The question to ask now is do we really know what we want as a people inhabiting the Niger Delta?”, the group demanded.
CDC noted that it was a very sad commentary to say the least on happenings at the agency and asked President Tinubu to take a decisive step to remedy the ugly trend and reposition the HYPREP that will meet the aspirations of the Ogoni people for resettlement and their livelihood.
“Now we are talking of cleaning of other impacted sites in the region that is yet to be attended to, issues of mismanagement of resources are rife; how does the international organisations have confidence in providing further funds for the cleanup of the rest of the region.
“This scandal must not be allowed to go unnoticed, probed and investigate the leadership of the HYPREP, others within and without. The investigation should start with the beneficiary companies by following the trail of the monies paid to each of these companies”, the group requested.
