The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the agency entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report of 2011, has restated its commitment to ensure a perfect clean-up of the devastating pollution caused by the oil exploration activities of Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) in Ogoni land.
The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, gave the assurance at the 2025 third-quarterly key regulators/asset owners meeting held in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.
He said the meeting was a platform to strengthen partnerships geared towards the actualisation of the full implementation of the UNEP report with a focus on restoring the livelihoods of Ogoni people.
“This gathering is another opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment to the environmental restoration of Ogoniland and to strengthen the vital partnership among HYPREP, regulators, and asset owners to ensure the full implementation of the UNEP Report’s recommendations.
“I would like to recall the recommendations of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland, which emphasised the critical role of regulators and asset owners in ensuring environmental sustainability and accountability.
“The report calls for stronger regulatory oversight, strict adherence to environmental standards, and consistent stakeholder engagement to ensure environmental sustainability.
“This quarterly meeting is, therefore, a direct response to those recommendations, serving as a platform to deepen engagement and strengthen the bonds that make our collective efforts more impactful,” Zabbey said.
Thanking the regulators and stakeholders for their consistent oversight, technical input, and commitment to upholding standards in the Ogoni clean-up exercise, the HYPREP coordinator disclosed that commendable success had been recorded in various aspects of the implementation of the UNEP report, assuring the Ogonis that transparency, inclusivity, and continuous robust engagement would be upheld throughout the exercise.
Zabbey added: “It is also important to note that considerable progress is being recorded across various thematic areas of the Ogoni clean-up project, including remediation of hydrocarbon-impacted sites, mangrove restoration, provision of potable water, public health interventions, the Ogoni power project, and environmental awareness and capacity building in environmental management, livelihood restoration, construction of the centre of excellence for environmental restoration and building global partnerships and linkages for sustainability.”
Most of the regulators, in their goodwill messages, attested to HYPREP’s commitment to international standards and compliance to the full implementation of the UNEP report.
Wilcox Balafama, who represented the Rivers State ministry of water resources at the meeting, said they were collaborating with HYPREP to ensure success, especially in the area of provision of potable drinking water.
“HYPREP is doing very well, we’re together, collaborating properly. If you ask me to rate HYPREP, I’ll say 90 percent for now. We’re always there with them in the field, and if we notice anything that is not proper, we call them to attention and they don’t hesitate to put things right. We’re working with them very well,” she explained.
Meshach Uyi of the Center for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD), said HYPREP’s clean-up and livelihoods restoration strategy was among the best in the African continent.
“HYPREP has made remarkable improvement in the area of environmental remediation and mangrove restoration in Ogoni land, and I think it’s one of the most robust so far in Africa, and I must commend them for that,” Uyi said.
Blessing Ibunge
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