Federal Gov’t, Trust Fund Chart New Governance, Funding Path For Ogoni Clean-up

The federal government has repositioned the Ogoni Clean-up programme as a major test of environmental justice and governance credibility following a high-level strategic retreat of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) and the Ogoni Trust Fund.

The two-day joint retreat, held in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, brought together members of HYPREP’s Governing Council and the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Trust Fund to review progress and recalibrate implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland, nearly 14 years after its release.

Presenting the Project Status Report, HYPREP project coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, highlighted progress in soil and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, potable water supply, livelihood support and public health interventions.

Professor Zabbey noted that the initiatives are designed to restore the environment and address socio-economic challenges in Ogoni communities.

The minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal in his keynote address stressed that the success of the Ogoni Clean-up goes beyond technical remediation, emphasising accountability, transparency and measurable impact.

He urged intensified fund mobilisation, stronger monitoring mechanisms and sustained stakeholder engagement to ensure federal commitments deliver visible results.

In a key governance proposal, chairman of the Ogoni Trust Fund Board of Trustees, Hon. Emma Deeyah, called for HYPREP to be institutionalised as a full-fledged government agency, arguing that this would shield the project from political transitions, policy reversals and funding uncertainties that have slowed progress.

Representatives of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited reaffirmed industry support for the clean-up, while urging prudent fund management to protect public confidence in both government and oil operators.

Political analysts note that the strong ministerial presence reflects growing concern that prolonged environmental degradation in Ogoniland continues to shape public trust, civic unrest and voter behaviour in oil-producing communities.

Observers say the meeting signalled renewed federal resolve to move beyond policy declarations to tangible remediation outcomes, amid sustained pressure from affected communities in Rivers State and the wider Niger Delta.

In a strong show of political backing under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, five cabinet ministers attended the retreat in line with Presidential Priority 3, Deliverable 3, which mandates acceleration of the Ogoni Clean-up Programme.