Since the formal commissioning of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP in 2016 to drive the remediation of the Ogoni environment, devastated by decades of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC oil operations controversies and corruption allegations have taken central stage in the operations of the project. This has resulted in slow progress of activities at the agency and despondency among the Ogoni people, despite the huge amounts of money sunk into the project.
On May 2, 2023, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey was appointed as new project Coordinator to take over from Dr Giadom, his kinsman. The appointment takes immediate effect.
The announcement of the appointment of Zabbey, a professor of Biomonitoring and Restoration Ecology at the Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, an environmental justice crusader, has reignited some hope that HYPREP may be pulled out of the mire of graft and stagnation to which interventionist agencies in the Niger Delta seem cursed.
Speaking on the development, Dr. Nnimmo Basssey, a foremost environmental rights campaigner and Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation,HOMEF in a statement last week declared that, ”We applaud the appointment of Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important research in the area and 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”.
Zabbey’s appointment brings a glimmer of hope for many Ogoni community members. Some were so excited that on hearing about the appointment, they quickly mobilized and stormed the Port Harcourt airport at Omagwa to give him a heroic welcome on the day he returned from Abuja, following the announcement of the appointment.
In a chat with National Point, Zabbey said he is humbled and challenged by the warm reception given to him, as well as accolades he has been receiving from many quarters, including Civil Society Organisations, CSOs. He said it is a huge task, with high expectations and he is challenged to ensure that he uses the opportunity to touch the lives of grassroots people positively. He disclosed that he would pay special attention to the area of women and youths empowerment through livelihood programmes. Many environmental rights activists and CSO actors have hailed the appointment of Zabbey, saying it amounts to placing a round pole in a round hole. They said since the history of HYPREP, it is the first time an activist who has been in the forefront of the campaign for environmental justice is being appointed to head the HYPREP. They however advised him to be mindful of forces, both internal and external who see HYPREP as a place for political patronage, and a space for money grabbing.
Leader of a faction of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People MOSOP Prince Biira, while commending the appointment of Prof Zabbey, noted that with his wealth of experience and pedigree, MOSOP and Ogoni people expect nothing less than an impactful, refreshing new dawn in the management of HYPREP and the remediation and restoration exercise of the environment. According to Biira, Zabbey is an experienced and upright environmental justice campaigner, adding that he has no doubt that he will efficiently deliver on his mandate. He urged the new HYPREP Coordinator to be wary of the rot in the organization, saying that HYPREP has become a cesspool of corruption.
Akpobari Celestine, a foremost Ogoni rights activist, while commending Zabbey’s appointment noted that HYPREP has not failed as many people think, but has been slow in carrying out its activities. “The main reason for this slowness is the constant change of Ministers for Environment that oversee this project”. He charged Zabbey to try as much as possible to ensure that contracts for electricity, water, Centre for Excellence, the Specialist Hospital and those on livelihoods are implemented urgently because these projects have direct bearing on the people
Although the UNEP report which recommended the remediation of the environment was published and submitted to the government on August 4, 2011, it took the government about 5 years to formally commission the HYPREP in 2016. After the establishment, it took another one year for $10million to be allocated to the agency out of the $1billion prescribed by the UNEP report.
The governing structure of the HYPREP, which is domiciled under the Ministry of Environment, adds to the fear of some Ogoni and environmental justice crusaders that the HYPREP may have been designed to fail. They fault the inclusion of SPDC representative on the governing council of HYPREP, saying that it is not proper for an oil company to be part of the structure deciding on issues of remediation of the environment.
The governing council is empowered to manage and implement the policies of HYPREP, providing the general quality guidelines relating to her functions. The governing council is made up of-
Minister of Environment as chairperson
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources/Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
Minister of Budget and National Planning
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs
National Security Adviser
Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission
Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (Ltd) and two alternates
One Representative of a Non-Governmental Organisation dealing with environmental issues
One representative of the 9 Oil Producing States on two year rotational basis
Two representatives of Ogoni communities and two alternates
Two representatives of Other Niger Delta Communities and two alternates
One representative of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) as observer
The Project Coordinator of the HYPREP who shall be the Secretary to the HYPREP Governing Council
The agency was established to achieve the under listed objectives in Ogoni land and other impacted communities:
* determine the scope, means and modalities of remediation of soil and ground water contamination in impacted communities as may be recommended by HYPREP Governing Council and remedy them.
* enhance local capacity for better environmental management and promote awareness of sound environmental management as well as ensure livelihoods and sustainable development.
* ensure security and promote peace building efforts in impacted communities.
* strengthen governance, transparency and accountability in the region
To achieve the objectives, HYPREP according to Nigeria’s official gazette 176 of December 2016, vol. 103, would perform the following functions:-
(a) investigate, map and evaluate hydrocarbon polluted communities and sites in Nigeria referred to it by the National Oil :SpiIL Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA) or the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the ‘ Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and make recommendations to the Federal Government and develop work programmes aimed at-restoring all hydrocarbon impacted communities and sites inferred to HYPREP;
undertake assessment and mapping, of all environmental issues associated with hydrocarbon pollution in collaboration with NOSDRA; and ground water in Ogoni land and such other impacted communities as may be referred to it;
– technically evaluate alternative technologies to be employed to undertake remediation of contaminated soil and ground water;
– make recommendations for responding, to future-environmental contamination from hydrocarbons; and
– ensure full environmental recovery and restoration of Ogoni ecosystem and ecosystem services for Ogoni people and other impacted communities.
Swift Game Of Musical Chairs
One year after the establishment of the HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil from Ogoni, was appointed as its pioneer Coordinator in 2017. Dekil is an environmental scientist, lawyer, academician and politician. He is an oil remediation expert. He was Technical Lead, UNEP Environmental Assessment of Ogoni land Project and a Technical Adviser to the Rivers State Commissioner for Environment.
Dekil obtained a qualifying law degree, LLM from Birbeck College, University of London, and was called to the Nigerian Bar. He is Managing Director/CEO of Dexcom Solution Ltd and Managing Partner at M.B.Dekil & Co. Perfection Chambers Law firm and was previously Associate Attorney at Afe Babalola SAN Emmanuel Chambers Law office Port Harcourt. His tenure as HYPREP Coordinator, was marred by prolonged controversies. Huge sums of money were appropriated to the agency, without anything tangible to show for this. Ogoni people continue to suffer the impacts of oil pollution, wondering where the money made available to alleviate their suffering went. Emergency measures, including the provision of water could not be achieved.
In Nov 2020, it was reported that Dekil had been sacked and replaced by Dr. Prof. Philip Shekwolo, Shell Nigeria’s former Head, Environmental Remediation. The more Dekil tried to debunk the rumour, the stronger it became, until he finally disappeared, paving the way for Shekwolo to take charge fully as “head of operations”, according to information available to National Point.
Agitations trailed the emergence of Prof Philip Shekwolo as Acting Coordinator of HYPREP. Foremost environmental group in the country, Environmental Rights Action, ERA called for his removal noting that, ”We cannot solve the devastation of the Ogoni environment, utilizing the same persons who exacerbated the situation in the first place”.
Protests by several Ogoni persons and groups continued until March 2021, when he was removed and Dr Ferdinand Giadom announced as the new Coordinator. Ogoni people were infuriated by the appointment of Prof. Philip Shekwolo not only because he is not an Ogoni, but was a Shell staff. To them, it amounts to double insult, handing over HYPREP to Shell.
Ogoni people heaved a sigh of relief, when the sacking of the Shekwolo was announced. Unfortunately, Giadom inspite of promises to make positive impacts, could not achieve much as his tenure was also marred by corruption allegations, questions on accountability and a management style characterized by slow motion.
A statement by Olusegun Shogbola, media/ICT for the Minister of Environment, noted that “the reports of misappropriation of public funds earmarked for the clean up of contaminated sites and for the improvement of the livelihood of Ogoni people were too grievous for the president to tolerate. The statement noted that Giadom perfected a method of siphoning public funds through multiple community sensitization events at inflated costs. Queries were issued to him to which he could not provide satisfactory responses. Hence, the termination of his services.
Giadom holds a doctor of philosophy degree in environmental geology and a Bachelor of Science in Geology, both from the University of Port Harcourt and a Master of Philosophy in environmental management from the Rivers State University.
He has over 20 years’ experience in the conduct of impact assessments and baseline studies of Brownfields and Greenfields, with tested expertise in the development of conceptual sites models of various environments. He has experience in the evaluation of natural attenuation processes and effective remediation technologies for different scenarios involving contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other chemicals of concern. He is also an expert in remediation project management and was a consultant with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the implementation of the UNEP Report on the Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland. Giadom is a member of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Nigerian Association for Engineering Geology and a Chartered Environmental Geologist.
Before these, HYREP had a Lawyer Gbene Joi Yimebe Nunieh as Acting Coordinator in 2012. She was appointed following the release of the UNEP Report on Ogoni environment under the Goodluck Jonathan administration and the set up of HYPREP.
Nunieh’s headship of the organization was dogged by controversy over a reported bloated staff profile and funding issues. She insisted that none of the oft quoted huge funds were released to the project under her tenure, ”When I was at HYPREP, they didn’t pay one dime. N50k was not release”.
Nunieh was compelled to leave the Project in 2014 and was replaced by Jamilah Shuara. A macabre twist was added to the tensions of her tenure when she was involved in an accident on the East-West Road at Mbiama Bridge on May 1, 2013. Two senior staff in the jeep with her and the driver, lost their lives when the vehicle veered off the bridge and was submerged in the river for hours. Nunieh survived the ordeal.
In charting a new direction for the Project, HOMEF noted that the clean-up of Ogoni has taken longer than necessary despite the available financial resources and manpower. “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.
Basssey noted that Prof Zabbey must resolve to do things differently, emphasizing transparency, focus and inclusion of all relevant stakeholders, in the operations. HOMEF also calls for regular consultations in which projected milestones are shared and achieved targets are presented.
Bassey, stressed further that with Zabbey’s pedigree as an academician and activist, the expectations of stakeholders are high and failure is not an option. Bassey further explains that time is of essence as the situation gets worse with every passing day. “While we congratulate Prof. Zabbey on this appointment, we equally take the opportunity to register some key urgent demands and hope that he uses his office to advocate for a comprehensive health and environmental audit of Ogoni land, the entire Niger Delta and wherever there has been negative impacts of hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation.”
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.
To Kingsley Ozegbe, another Niger Delta activist, the appointment of Zabbey is a good thing for the Ogoni and the civil society groups, who have been calling for the restoration of the Niger Delta environment which has been damaged by oil activities. He advised that the new Coordinator should ask for a blueprint to guide his interventions, or to start by producing one, if it is not available.
“Let him ask for the HYPREP blueprint. Then, request for their work plan; Monitoring and Evaluation framework; Monitoring and Evaluation progress reports; their annual report; their details annual financial reports.These will help him to understand what they have been doing, funds realized and how they were spent – recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure; annual program target, actual results achieved and unrealized results; These will guide him”, he said.
Egondu Ogbalor, a female activist told this publication that Zabbey has a big task on his shoulder. However, she expressed confidence that he has the capacity to deliver. She noted that part of the problems that have been slowing down the progress of HYPREP was the politicization and “ethnicization” of development. She said some persons saw the clean up as an Ogoni thing, and thereby work very hard to prevent contributions from other ethnic groups. She admonished Zabbey to try as much as possible to avoid ethnicizing the work of HYPREP, saying that although it is about Ogoni environment and Ogoni people, people from different ethnic groups can make meaningful inputs that can lead to the success of the Project. She noted that a situation where a contract is awarded to people who were not qualified to handle the job just because they are from Ogoni is counter productive; ”Quality of service delivery is undermined”.
