Stakeholders and industry regulators, have reviewed the activities and performance of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project ( HYPREP) in the second quarter of 2024 and gave the Project a clean bill of health, affirming that it has done excellent and tremendous work to improve the living conditions of the Ogoni people within the period under review.

This is even as they have unanimously fixed their third and fourth quarterly meetings with HYPREP for September 26, 2024 and December 5, 2024 respectively.

This indication came to the fore during the second quarterly stakeholders/ industry regulators meeting organised by HYPREP at Casoni Hotel in Port Harcourt last Thursday.

The former Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Deinibarini Zabbey said in his welcome address that the attendance of the meeting by the key stakeholders and industry regulators is an expression of their commitment to HYPREP’s goals and objectives.

He noted that the quarterly review meeting is a component of HYPREP’s monitoring and evaluation framework, which is crucial, as it brings together key project stakeholders and industry regulators, including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Environment; National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency(NOSDRA); Rivers State Ministry of Environment; Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources; Rivers State Ministry of Health;Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC); Stakeholders Democratic Network (SDN); Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development (CEHRD); AIFES; SWAYA; and other players.

He noted that HYPREP is using the platform to provide an update on the status of its project delivery, saying, “Over the past quarter, we have made significant progress in our remediation efforts and other project thematic areas”.

According to him, key milestones include the ongoing remediation of several land and shoreline sites; mangrove restoration; the construction of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration; the Ogoni Specialist Hospital; water facilities; and sundry livelihood programmes.

Zabbey said the journey has not been without challenges, adding that “We have encountered logistical hurdles, including malicious cutting of planted mangroves; inter- intra communal land disputes; community leadership tussles; and targeted fence erections that impeded access to contaminated sites.”

He, however, posited that in the face of these odds, HYPREP’s tenacity remains unshaken, as it is more determined than ever to achieve its goals, as it would continue to utilise its conflict prevention and resolution mechanism to resolve the issues, and solicited the continued support and collaboration of the stakeholders to effectively address the challenges and bottlenecks.

The former Project Coordinator said the meeting provides a unique opportunity for the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Rivers State Government, industry regulators, the funding partners, civil society partners and other key stakeholders to provide feedback on HYPREP’s performance, saying, “this platform allows us to align our efforts with regulatory expectations and industry best practices”.

He further indicated that through it, HYPREP welcomes the insights and suggestions on how it can improve its strategies, processes, enhance compliance and achieve its project goals more effectively and within stated timelines, saying, “your insights and evaluations will guide our strategic adjustments and shape our future direction, ensuring we remain on the right path toward achieving our remediation, livelihood, peacebuilding and other project objectives”.

Zabbey also hinted that HYPREP is reviewing site assessment and stakeholder engagement strategies for optimum results and intensifying its community engagement initiatives, by ensuring that the Ogoni communities are informed and actively participating in the Project.

According to him, this includes training programmes for youth, enhancing their skills in sustainable livelihoods and environmental management, and providing inclusive employment opportunities.

“Community content has become part of our contract administration.We are committed to transparency and accountability in our operations,” he intoned.

While expressing his sincere appreciation to the stakeholders for their unending support and collaboration, Zabbey affirmed that, “together, we can overcome the challenges before us and achieve the goals and objectives of HYPREP.”

He enjoined the stakeholders to continue to work with HYPREP in harmony and with focus, “leveraging our collective expertise and resources to restore and return the Ogoni environment, restore the livelihoods of its people, and build structures for peace”.

The Monitoring and Evaluation officer of HYPREP, Mr Goodluck Msu mounted the stage and presented a lucid account of HYPREP’s activities and scorecard to the participants within the period under review, which elicited reactions and comments on how the Project has fared so far, in its bid to improve the living conditions of the Ogoni people.

While scoring HYPREP high on what is currently on ground, the Head of Environment, Stakeholders Democratic Network (SDN), Mr Jude Samuelson Ikenna commended the Project for the work it is doing but stressed the need for it to employ more technical personnel to improve its monitoring and supervision of projects since the volume of work is increasing by the day.

On her part, the Assessment and Sustainability officer of the Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development ( CEHRD), Baridapsi Nyiaghan expressed satisfaction with the various projects and programmes undertaken by the Project in Ogoniland but solicited for an improvement.

Also speaking, Mrs Oguns Oke of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Ogoni Restoration Project while expressing her excitement, assured HYPREP of SPDC’s continued support, and stressed the need for mechanism to be put in place to channel floods away from ongoing project sites , particularly now that the rains have set in.

Overall, the participants expressed grave concern about the fencing of some ongoing project sites in Eleme by an individual, and called for prompt action to address the inherent challenge.

While responding to this anomaly, the former Project Coordinator noted that the Zonal Representative Committee and the Central Representative Advisory Committee(CRAC) of HYPREP had been deployed to handle the issue in accordance with the Project’s peace building policy instead of employing force.

On the call for the Project to employ more technical hands, he hinted that recommendations to that effect had already been presented to the Governing Council for consideration and approval.

Among personalities who attended the meeting was the Head of Reference Laboratory of the National Oil Spill! Detection and Response Agency(NOSDRA), Dr Kenneth Aroh, who represented the agency.