The Zonal Vice President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Zone F, Comrade Opaka Dokubo, has commended the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), a Federal Government initiative, for its efforts in environmental remediation and livelihood restoration in Ogoniland.
Comrade Dokubo gave the commendation during a tour of HYPREP project sites on the sidelines of the South-South Zonal Executive Council (ZEC) Meeting of the NUJ held in Port Harcourt.
He applauded the management of HYPREP for the milestones achieved in land remediation, shoreline clean-up, mangrove restoration, provision of potable water to about 40 communities, livelihood empowerment, human capital development, and the construction of legacy infrastructure such as the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, the Ogoni Power Project, and the Ogoni Specialist Hospital.
“There is so much to commend HYPREP for, and indeed so much to commend the Federal Government for what we have seen here. HYPREP is doing diligent work, and we are satisfied that real progress is being made. As it stands, nothing is left out in this project,” he stated.
While acknowledging the progress, Comrade Dokubo urged the Federal Government not only to continue implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Ogoniland but also to replicate similar interventions in other South-South states affected by hydrocarbon pollution.
Sites visited during the tour included the Mangrove Remediation Site at Bomu Community, Kporghor/Gio Water Scheme, the Ogoni Specialist Hospital, and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration.
Welcoming the NUJ leaders to the sites, HYPREP’s Director of Technical Services, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi representing the Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey encouraged journalists to be objective, commending where necessary and offering constructive criticism to help improve project delivery.
Also speaking, the Head of Communications, HYPREP, Mr. Enuolare Mba-Nwigoh, highlighted the positive outcomes of the project, including biodiversity recovery, planting of over 1.4 million mangrove seedlings, medical outreach and interventions, and robust community-based engagement.
He assured that more projects would be completed before the end of the year.