The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commissioned a potable water project in Barako Community in Gokaana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr. Ibrahim Yusufu, who performed the commissioning ceremony in the community on Wednesday said the water project was the second completed lot in Ogoniland by HYPREP out of the six projects in the first phase of the emergency water intervention for Ogoni communities which was flagged off on March 2, 2022.
He said the commissioned water project has an installed storage capacity of 250 cubic metres of water to guarantee a sustainable supply of good quality water to all households in the serviced community.
According to him, following the presidential inauguration of HYPREP on June 2, 2016, the Federal Ministry of Environment has consistently made deliberate efforts to recover lost grounds and ensure timely delivery of emergency intervention projects in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the environmental restoration of Ogoniland.
He noted that it is, therefore, the Ministry’s fervent commitment to expedite efforts in delivering the rest of the four water lots of the emergency water intervention projects before the end of the year.
The remaining water projects, he sad include Alesa and Agbonchia booster station awarded to Cobel International Limited; Nsisioke, Ogale and Ebubu booster station awarded to Duliz Dredging and Construction Limited; Tarabor, Bera and Biara booster station awarded to El Sunnic Integrated Resource Limited; and Bori, Kpean and Bieri booster station awarded to Geokcoy Nigeria Limited.
Yusufu indicated that all contractors handling the various projects have been mandated to expedite execution and delivery of the remaining water plants in line with the projects stipulated specifications and global best practices.
He, however, hinted that the Ministry would be handing over 14 lots under the phase 2 to contractors for the construction of additional 14 potable water schemes, covering 52 communities across the four local government areas of Ogoniland, stressing that the Ministry and HYPREP Project Coordination Office have exhaustively engaged the beneficiary communities in decision making process with a view to ensuring inclusive ownership, long-term functionality and sustainability of the water supply facilities.
The Permanent Secretary further stated that while efforts are being intensified to cover more milestones in the HYPREP implementation framework, it has become exigent to find lasting solutions to challengies of theft and vandalisation of project items and incessant sponsored agitations, which have over the years encumbered the procurement process and effective delivering of emergency and livelihood support projects.
In his opening remarks, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey said are of cardinal mandates HYPREP, in line with the recommendation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland is the provision of potable water that meets the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, stressing that the project was guided by this fact to embark on the provision of potable water in its phase 2 water scheme with the award of six water contracts in March, 2021, adding that the Barako water scheme is one of the projects in the phase 1 of the water scheme in Ogoniland.
He said the completion and commissioning of the water project is a further affirmation of the commitment of the Federal Government through HYPREP to the full implementation of the UNEP Report, stressing that the water scheme has an over head tank with a strong capacity of 500,000 litre and a reticulation stretch of more than 10 kilometres.
Zabbey further indicated that since last year, the Alesa water station had been running and supply clean water to the community and neighbouring communities of Alode, Aleto, Agbonchia and Ogale, stressing that work on other water stations in Korokoro, Nonwa, Bori, Zaakpon and Kpean has reached advanced stage of completion.
The Project Coordinator said to ensure the sustainability of these projects, HYPREP would continue to collaborate with communities in the design and execution of projects and would hand over the water projects to the respective communities for effective management while it will manage the facilities in the next two years, within which period it would train community workers and set up the Water Consumers Association ( WCA) for their continuous management and sustainability.
He assured that the project would continue to provide a robust, accountable and transparent stakeholders engagement interface to identify and address potential issues that would not impede the successful implementation of the projects, stressing that issues of re-pollution occasioned by oil theft and illegal refineries must be collectively tackled to guarantee the successful clean-up of Ogoniland.
The Permanent Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Yusufu also handed over to contractors project sites for the Ogoni power project; specialist/cottage hospitals; Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration; and mangrove planting.
He was lavishly treated to the traditional Ogoni hospitality by the people of Barako community.

By: Donatus Ebi