The Federal Government of Nigeria on Friday, July 29, 2022, assured the public that the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) is guided by legal instruments and international obligations which effectively placed it under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The authorities disclosed in a statement that this is in line with Government gazette and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report guiding the establishment of HYPREP, as the project is aimed at solving environmental challenges and therefore is appropriately domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Environment.
“We wish to further inform the general public that President Muhammadu Buhari has, vide a memo dated April 28, 2022, with Ref No, PRES/81/SGF/82 conveyed via the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, reiterated the oversight of the Federal Ministry of Environment over HYPREP and has directed the Minister of Environment to deliver on the Ogoniland cleanup with dispatch,” the statement reads.
It adds that, while approving the reorganisation of the operations of HYPREP to make it more effective, President Buhari equally directed for the full audit of the accounts of HYPREP from inception to date.
It reads further: “The Ministry therefore assures all International Oil Companies (IOCs), partners and Ogoni Stakeholders of the commitment of the Federal Government to those instruments and obligations.
“In this connection, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed H. Abdullahi, implores all stakeholders to remain calm and continue to cooperate with HYPREP as it strives to execute its mandate.
“The minister emphasised that the Federal Ministry of Environment will continue to provide purposeful leadership towards the actualisation of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to clean, remediate and restore the polluted environment not only in Ogoniland but the rest of the Niger Delta and beyond.”
