Tinubu reinstates HYPREP coordinator after Ogonis set agenda for Adekanbi

Ben Eguzozie

In just one day after some factional leaders of the Ogonis set an agenda for Olufemi Adekanbi, who was appointed project coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, President Bola Tinubu has sanctioned the reinstatement of sacked Nenibarini Zabbey to the post.

Zabbey, a professor, was sacked on Saturday and Adekanbi appointed to replace him, but the decision raised concern with protests against the appointment of the non-Ogoni man, by major stakeholders in the Niger Delta region.

Youth leaders in Ogoni gave the Nigerian government 24 hours to reinstate Zabbey, and the government appears to have heeded the ultimatum.

There had been conflicting positions by Sunday as representatives from the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, Ogoni Youths Federation, Ogoni Students Association Worldwide, and Association of Ogoni Martyrs expressed their dissatisfaction, while Fegalo Nsuke, recognised in a section of MOSOP as president, said although the new HYPREP coordinator was not from Ogoni, what mattered most under the present circumstance was competence and capacity to undertake the clean-up of Ogoni and other impacted areas of the Niger Delta.

Report said youth leaders had insisted that if the presidency did not reinstate Zabbey, whom they said was performing well, they would have no choice but to shut down all project sites, and the President has now bowed to the pressure.

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesman, said on Monday that “by the directive of the President, the reinstatement of the HYPREP Project Coordinator takes immediate effect.”

Ngelale said: “President Bola Tinubu has approved the reinstatement of Professor Nenibarini Zabbey as the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

“The President reached the decision following a performance review of the HYPREP Project Coordinator and concluded that the Project Coordinator is fit to discharge his functions in accordance with the regulations guiding the execution of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

“By the directive of the President, the reinstatement of the HYPREP Project Coordinator takes immediate effect.”

On Sunday, Fegalo Nsuke and some environmentalists appeared to welcome Adekanbi’s appointment and set an agenda for him regarding the work of HYPREP.

The Nsuke group of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), the main pressure group of the Ogonis, and other environmentalists welcoming President Tinubu’s appointment of Adekanmbi, said although the new HYPREP coordinator was not from Ogoni, what mattered most under the present circumstance was competence and capacity to undertake the clean-up of Ogoni and other impacted areas of the Niger Delta.

Ogoni and Niger Delta clean-up has been a distressing issue since 2011, which the Nigerian federal government has not managed to put a strong foot on yet. It took five years (until 2016) before the government could establish HYPREP, an initial body to midwife several other processes leading up to the clean-up of oil-impacted Niger Delta region, as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In August 2011, UNEP came out with a technical document for a 30-year Niger Delta clean-up and environmental remediation project, initially to cost $1 billion.

Specifically, HYPREP’s responsibilities involve: cleanup of oil-polluted sites; remediation of contaminated soil and water; restoration of damaged ecosystems; provision of alternative livelihoods for affected communities; and capacity building and skills development. Till date, the body still struggles with taking its baby steps.

Nsuke said the appointment marked a turning point in the yearning for the Ogoni clean-up, adding that with Adekanmbi on board, considering his antecedent, it was a welcome development.

Adekambi was a former commissioner for special duties, culture and tourism in Ondo State. He is also a member of the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES). His appointment into HYPREP was announced by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, on Saturday.

Nuske, the MOSOP leader, lamented that Ogoni indigenes have been in the position in the past, but could not deliver satisfactorily. “What matters to us is someone who can deliver. We have had Ogonis there for eight years, and we’ve been thoroughly disappointed by their performances. So if Dr Adekanmbi does it right, we are fine with that,” the MOSOP leader said in Port Harcourt.

Environmentalists have set an agenda for the new HYPREP coordinator: “to prioritise water provision and implement the integrated water project which was approved by the governing council of HYPREP in 2017. We will also want him to focus more on proper clean-up of both surface and underground pollution. That’s actually his mandate.”

Iniodu George, a professor of environmental and public health parasitology in the Department of Environmental Biology at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), while welcoming the choice of Adekanmbi as new HYPREP coordinator, said President Tinubu anticipates the exercise of competence, dedication, and professionalism in fulfilling the mission of HYPREP to restore and revitalise communities impacted by hydrocarbon pollution, with a primary focus on Ogoniland, and other polluted areas of Niger Delta.

“We want [Dr Adekanmbi] to prioritise water provision and implement the integrated water project which was approved by the HYPREP Governing Council in 2017. I expect the new coordinator to spring into action to review the state of affairs in Ogoni clean-up effort and engage best available technology to enhance timely and permanent results in the remediation of the impacted ecosystems, as well as chart a course for the provision of sustainable infrastructure and socioeconomic amenities, especially access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare,” George said in an interview on Sunday.

The appointment of a new project coordinator for HYPREP comes on the backdrop of a recently held Niger Delta Summit, where natives and environmentalists condemned the chronic devastation of Nigeria’s oil region’s environment. Now they all want a pragmatic approach by President Tinubu to address the issues of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.