Ogoni cleanup: CSOs seek immediate extension of project to other N-Delta communities 

Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria and International Environmental Advocates, IEA, have called for a broader cleanup of polluted communities across the Niger Delta region. 

The groups made the call during a visit to projects sites of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, in Ogoni, Rivers State, to assess progress made in the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP recommendations on Ogoniland.

Speaking, representative of the International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta, Dr Isaac Osuoka, said the team observed palpable progress in mangrove restoration and remediation of polluted land in affected communities in Ogoniland .

Osuoka said although progress has been recorded in Ogoni, but that much work still needs to be done in other parts of the region, noting that pollution remains a major environmental and public health challenge across the Niger Delta region.

He said “there is no part of the world as polluted as the Niger Delta. What we are seeing in Ogoni should be replicated in Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom and other impacted communities.”

Osuoka emphasised that international oil companies operating in the region should remain accountable for environmental damages caused over the years, despite divestment.

Also speaking, a Professor in York University, Canada, Anna Zalik described the remediation efforts in Ogoni as encouraging, noting that the scale of pollution in the region would require long-term commitment from the governments, international partners, and oil companies.

Zalik said “it’s really inspiring to see the commitment to the remediation in the area. This is a very extensive work that will require commitment by government, by the international community, and particularly by the international oil companies financing this over various decades, to ensure that polluted areas in Ogoni, elsewhere in rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, parts, various parts of the Niger Delta are properly cleaned up.”

Meanwhile, the Convener of the International Working Group, Mrs Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, said she is impressed by the mangrove restoration projects and remediation efforts carried out by HYPREP.

Nwajiaku-Dahou, however, noted that the intervention in Ogoni represented only a fraction of the environmental crisis in the Niger Delta and called for sustained funding and support to ensure lasting impact.