Clean-up: HYPREP sues for peace in Ogoniland
Port Harcourt -- The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, has expressed worry over spate of insecurity in Ogoniland, lamenting that some clean-up contractors have been unable to commence work due to insecurity.
HYPREP, which is the agency saddled with the responsibility of remediating crude oil polluted sites in Ogoniland and restoration of livelihoods of the
people of Ogoni, is appealing to all waring factions to sheath their swords and embrace peace.
Speaking in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State during the sensitisation and townhall meeting on Ogoni cleanup, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, reassured the people that the Federal Government was committed to the clean-up of the Ogoni environment and to restore the livelihood of the people.
Dekil explained that the clean-up project had consciously encompassed youth engagement and empowerment as a critical component of the project as he charged the youths of Ogoni to give peace a chance, support the clean-up project and take full advantage of all the opportunities that the project had brought.
He disclosed that 15 Ogoni youths have so far graduated from three months of training on fabrication of cassava processing machines at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, Onne, adding that the process to train the next set of 400 youths was at advanced stage.
"You will recall that in January this year, we were here to present and handover to you the contractors who will be carrying out remediation works in your community. This visit would have been to inform you of the level of works achieved by the contractor working in your community, regrettably, we do no have any report to give.
"The reason for this is not farfetched. The restiveness in the community affects people and activities in which the clean-up project is not an exception," he said.