The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says it has achieved a major environmental milestone in Ogoniland with the full completion of Phase One of its mangrove restoration programme, even as it warned that renewed pollution could erase years of painstaking cleanup.

The announcement was made in Port Harcourt by HYPREP’s Director of Technical Services, Dr Damian-Paul Aguiyi, at the agency’s fourth-quarter 2025 stakeholders and regulators’ meeting, a forum convened to assess progress, identify gaps, and align partners behind the Ogoni cleanup mandate.According to Aguiyi, 100 per cent planting and restoration has been achieved under Phase One, marking a critical turning point in the ecological recovery of Ogoniland, one of the areas most devastated by decades of hydrocarbon pollution.

“We have completed Phase One planting and restoration at 100 per cent. We are now in the monitoring stage, with some sites already observed for up to nine months,” he said.

Beyond mangroves, Aguiyi reported significant progress in soil and groundwater remediation, describing the last quarter as one of HYPREP’s most productive periods since the Ogoni cleanup commenced.

He disclosed that shoreline cleanup has reached about 77 per cent completion, while access to safe drinking water has expanded across Ogoni communities.

“We have restored 100 per cent potable water supply to Ebubu, and reconstruction work has commenced at the Gwara Waterfall,” Aguiyi stated.

On infrastructure, he said key equipment for the long-awaited Ogoni Power Project has been procured and secured at the Wiyaakara substation, signalling movement toward energy support for the restoration effort.

Despite the progress, Aguiyi warned that re-pollution remains the single greatest threat to the success of the Ogoni cleanup.

“Our major concern is waking up one day to find areas cleaned with Ogoni people’s resources re-polluted by activities beyond our control,” he said, stressing that environmental recovery must be protected as much as it is delivered.

He attributed the sharp decline in illegal artisanal refining in Ogoniland over the past two to three years to sustained community engagement and alternative livelihood programmes, which he said have reduced economic dependence on destructive practices.

“We have not recorded incidents of artisanal refining in Ogoniland in the last two to three years, and that is the result of consistent sensitisation and viable livelihood options,” he added.

Aguiyi reaffirmed HYPREP’s willingness to collaborate with companies and partners operating in Ogoniland, noting that initiatives aligned with the project’s environmental and social objectives would be reviewed and adopted where appropriate.

He also said recommendations from recent independent and internal reports are already being implemented, underscoring HYPREP’s commitment to transparency, accountability, environmental recovery, and improved livelihoods for Ogoni communities.