By Fatima Saka
Key regulators and asset owners have expressed strong satisfaction with the pace, quality and scale of work being executed by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commending the agency’s adherence to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recommendations on the Ogoni clean-up.
The endorsements were made at the 2025 fourth-quarter Key Regulators/Asset Owners Meeting held in Port Harcourt, where stakeholders praised HYPREP’s efficiency, transparency and growing capacity to deliver on its mandate while sustaining collaboration with development partners.
Regulators particularly lauded HYPREP’s achievements in land and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, provision of reticulated potable water, and the rollout of sustainable livelihood programmes. They also highlighted the donation of ambulances to health facilities in Ogoni, the construction of a Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, and progress on the Ogoni Power Project. According to the stakeholders, independent field reports confirm that HYPREP’s interventions have in several areas gone beyond its core mandate.
Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD), Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA), Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), among others. Also represented were the Rivers State Ministries of Environment, Health, Power, and Water and Rural Development, Rivers State University, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd.
Following a presentation by HYPREP’s Monitoring and Evaluation Unit on the status of ongoing projects, participants offered feedback on areas requiring improvement while reaffirming their commitment to the success of the Ogoni Clean-up. They recommended the sustenance of the quarterly review meetings, describing them as critical platforms for monitoring progress, evaluating outcomes and jointly addressing emerging concerns.
Commending the quality of work observed during field visits, Professor Iyenemi Kakulu of Rivers State University described HYPREP’s performance as “phenomenal,” noting that the Project was “scoring good grades, above average.”
In his address, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, represented by the Director of Technical Services, Professor Damian-Paul Aguiyi, thanked regulators and asset owners for their cooperation, field support and consistent participation in review meetings. He reaffirmed HYPREP’s commitment to best practices in waste management, particularly in waste generation and disposal, while calling on regulators to provide adequate logistics support.
Professor Zabbey stressed that HYPREP remains focused on UNEP’s core recommendations, including soil and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, provision of potable water, public healthcare interventions and sustainable livelihoods for the Ogoni people. He noted that significant progress has been recorded across all thematic areas and assured that many ongoing projects would soon be completed, with new initiatives to be rolled out.
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He explained that the quarterly meeting serves as a critical mechanism for reviewing progress, ensuring quality control and strengthening collaboration among stakeholders.
The Quarterly Key Regulators/Asset Owners Meeting, participants agreed, has become a cornerstone of HYPREP’s stakeholder engagement strategy, reinforcing transparency, accountability and partnership for development—key drivers of effective project delivery in the Ogoni Clean-up.
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