HYPREP’s Quarterly Engagement Meeting Earns Praise From Stakeholders

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has been commended by stakeholders for its commitment to public accountability, collaborative partnership, and inclusivity. 

At the 2nd Quarterly Key Regulators/Asset Owners Meeting held in Port Harcourt, participants praised HYPREP’s efforts in organizing the quarterly engagement meeting, which provides a platform for progress updates and feedback.

The stakeholders, comprising regulators, asset owners, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), commended HYPREP’s diligent implementation of recommendations and submissions. 

They reiterated their continuous support for the project, emphasizing the importance of collaborative partnership and inclusivity in project delivery.

According to Meshach Oyi, Programme Officer of Environmental Governance at the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), this level of transparency is rare and has contributed significantly to improving the project’s delivery.

Oyi praised HYPREP for its commitment to accountability, noting that the project’s willingness to be scrutinized has helped to address concerns and improve its operations. 

“One particular aspect of this meeting is where HYPREP opens its books for scrutiny,” Oyi said. “And that is one hard aspect of every process for people to open their books for scrutiny. And the regulators, the asset owners, and the NGOs are doing just that.”

Despite some challenges, Oyi acknowledged the progress HYPREP has made, saying, “Nobody is perfect. They have improved so much on some of the areas that have been complained about over the years. And we can see the level of success, and we need to commend them.” 

He emphasized the importance of collaboration among all parties to address key challenges and ensure better project performance.

According to Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, Project Coordinator of HYPREP, the project has made significant milestones in its thematic areas, including soil and groundwater remediation, potable water, livelihood, Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), Public Health, Ogoni Power Project (OPP), and Innovative Research.

Represented by Professor Damian-Paul Aguiyi, Director Technical Services at HYPREP, Zabbey noted that the essence of this quarterly engagement is to brief regulators and asset owners on the project’s progress, share knowledge, and gather feedback to improve the project’s delivery.

The meeting provided an opportunity for regulators and asset owners to make suggestions and observations that have helped HYPREP improve its operations. Zabbey noted that the feedback received from the regulators and asset owners has been valuable in helping the project team to identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance the project’s delivery.

He said: “The essence of this engagement which we do quarterly is to brief our regulator and asset owners on the progress we are making on the project,  as well as our challenges to share knowledge with them, provide information and enable them to give us feedbacks for which we can use to improve ourselves. 

“So technically speaking I can say they have made suggestions and observations that have helped us improve on what we do and how we manage issues as they relate to the activities. 

“Adding value and we do this quarterly to brief them and update them and importantly get feedbacks from them on means and ways of getting feedbacks from our processes.”

The meeting was attended by representatives from various organizations, including the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company Limited (NPSCL), Federal Ministry of Environment, Rivers State Ministries of Environment, Water Resources and Rural Development, Health and Power, Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), Society for Women and Youth Affairs (SWAYA), and Renaissance African Energy Company.

HYPREP’s Quarterly Engagement Meeting Earns Praise From Stakeholders is first published on The Whistler Newspaper