The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has charged the newly appointed coordinator of Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Prof Nenibarini Zabbey to resolve environmental concerns in Ogoniland differently.
HOMEF gave this charge on Wednesday through a statement signed by Kome Odhomor, its Media and Communication lead.
It said that the clean-up of Ogoni has taken longer than necessary despite the available resources and manpower made available.
“In 2012, the Nigerian government established the Hydrocarbons Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to help with the clean-up of Ogoni land and impacted communities. The anachronistic name was changed to Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in 2016 when the cleanup was flagged off.
“Project Coordinators for the job have come and gone, and yet a new one has been appointed. Prof Zabbey must resolve to do things differently.
“Transparency, focus and inclusion of all relevant stakeholders must be key in the operations.”
HOMEF also called for regular consultations in which projected milestones are shared and achieved targets are presented.
The Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, noted that with Zabbey’s pedigree as an academician and activist, the expectations of stakeholders are high and failure is not an option.
He added that things must be done differently and the complex pollution sites must be tackled resolutely.
“We applaud the appointment of Prof. Nenibari Zabbey. Who has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important researches in the area and in the wider Niger Delta region.
“This appointment coming 12 years after the UNEP report should signify a turning point in the sluggish manner by which the clean-up has been approached,” he urged.
HOMEF calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the oil and gas industry to begin a comprehensive cleanup of the Niger Delta region and take coordinated action to end to all forms of pollution including through gas flaring.