An international organisation under the aegis of International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta has called on the federal government to prevail on the international oil companies that operated in the region to restore the environment and livelihoods of the people, despite their divestments.

This was as the Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP), said it has recorded 90% survival of mangroves in the ongoing cleanup and remediation of shorelines in Ogoni land.

The group made the call on Wednesday, during a visit to Ogoniland to understudy the ongoing remediation carried out by the HYPREP, on Wednesday.

The International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta, is a group of researchers, academics and advocates from around the world, including Nigeria, that are interested in environmental remediation in the entire region.

Speaking with journalists after the visit, a member of the group and leader of the delegation, Isaac Osuoka, said the aim of the visit was to study the situation in Ogoniland and the ongoing cleanup.

“This group has been established particularly following the work of the Bayelsa State’s Oil and Environmental Commission, which made findings that are very similar to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni land,” he said.

He stated that the pollution in Ogoni is just a bit of the entire crisis. “The entire Niger Delta is badly, massively polluted. It’s an outrage. There is no part of the world that is as polluted as the Niger Delta. And we want to see this kind of response, this kind of intervention everywhere, not just in Bayelsa, but all parts of the Niger Delta,” Osuoka said.

Osuoka, commended the efforts of HYPREP in carrying out the remediation. He said: “What we are seeing is that clearly there is some work being done and as a group it’s an interesting learning opportunity. We’ve seen mangrove restoration sites, we’ve seen that there is pollution, polluted lands that have been restored.

“This is going to take a lot of work, much more work than what has been done already. We recognise that this is not yet finished business. But we see that clearly that there is effort and there is some change and we will take that lesson even as we continue to advocate for cleanup of the entire Niger Delta,” he said.

Osuoka noted that while the few hours spent in the visit is not sufficient to give a conclusive assessment on the successes of HYPREP, there is progress at different levels. “We have seen attempts to address livelihood issues because when there is pollution, members of communities lose their livelihoods”.

Osuoka called on the federal government to hold the IOCs accountable. “The United Nations Environment Programme recommended that one billion should be expended during an initial five-year period. And Shell is supposed to be responsible for all of those expenses.

“And this is also relevant for the entire Niger Delta, in places like Bayelsa, in Delta, Rivers State and other communities where the international oil companies, unfortunately because of the irresponsibility of the Nigerian government to allow the international company to basically just walk away without addressing all of these issues.”

Prof. Anna Zalik, a professor in Environmental and Urban Change at York University in Toronto, Canada, and a member of the group, stated that their focus is to push for the implementation of the report on the Bayelsa State environment and Niger Delta at large.

“We are here to look and promote the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, which seeks to implement proper remediation of polluted land throughout Bayelsa State and elsewhere in the Niger Delta.

“And thus, we are visiting HYPREP sites to learn about all of the work that has been done here in Ogoni to begin the process of cleaning up the pollution caused by decades of the international oil companies’ activities in the Niger Delta. We’ve learned a lot from the work that HYPREP has done, and it’s really inspiring to see the commitment to the remediation in the area”, Zalik added.

Kathlyn Nwajiaku-Dahou, who is the Director of the ODI Global Politics and Governance Program, a think-tank based in the UK, acknowledged the successes recorded by HYPREP, especially the mangrove restoration.

She said: “We came here to learn, to listen and I think I’ve learned quite a lot. I was very impressed by the attempts to begin the process of replanting of mangroves,

that’s restoration of the mangroves, after having carried out cleanup and some remediation. So, it’s good to see that this is happening.”

Addressing the delegation, Mr. Raphael Sane, Head, Environmental Remediation of HYPREP, stated that the livelihood programs such as the trainings, provision of water, the Centre of Excellence, hospitals and other projects ongoing as part of the cleanup, are all geared towards the sustainability of the project in Ogoniland.

Sane who represented the HYPREP Project Coordinator Professor Neenibarini Zabbey, noted challenges of capturing, in terms of remediating an impacted site and the livelihoods programs.

Earlier, the Mangrove Restoration Officer for HYPREP, Dr. Uche Izuchukwu, told the delegation that the project has restored about 560 hectares of shoreline and planted six different species of mangrove. “Out of the six species, three are red, one black, one white,” he said.

Dr. Izuchukwu also stated that collectively the project has planted over 1,532,000 seedlings, and also recovered about two tons of oil in the shoreline.

On survival rate, Dr. Izuchukwu noted that while there are challenges such as insects and bugs, the project has recorded 90% survival of the mangroves.

Sites visited by the delegation included the Bomu mangrove restoration site, the Kpoghor/Gio Water project, the Ogoni Independent Power Plant, the Ogoni Centre of Excellence, the Ogoni Specialist Hospital and an ongoing remediation site. (Arise News)

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