SOStainabilityWeekly
By Oke Epia, E-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com | WhatsApp: +234 8034000706
Washing and Hushing
Ogoni land has lengthy symbolised the Niger Delta wrestle for social, financial and environmental justice. 70 years after the Oloibiri discovery of crude oil in industrial portions, the Nigerian authorities is on the verge of restarting drilling in Ogoni after manufacturing was abruptly halted simply over 30 years in the past. While Oloibiri (in present-day Bayelsa State) and Ogoni (in Rivers State) signify two completely different eras in the chronology of the black gold, each locations, nonetheless, bear the similar brunt of the corporatist jackboot.
As the story of the Ogoni 9 – the scoured conscience of a prebendal state which gleefully inflicted fossil-induced violence on a neighborhood scorched by inner contradictions infected by the dialectics of divide-and-rule – is effectively documented, this piece will deal with current developments that reinforce one another – one concerning audit queries from the House of Representatives to the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP); and the different relates to the robust push to resume oil manufacturing in Ogoni. It is assumed {that a} authorities determined to resume drilling would prioritise, and certainly, elevate redress of previous wrongs (particularly environmental remediation) to the highest attainable normal of transparency and accountability. Unfortunately, unfolding developments with HYPREP seem to paint a unique image.
Following the suggestions of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the Federal Government of Nigeria formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in June 2016. To institutionalise and maintain the train, it arrange HYPREP to guarantee coordination. Ten years later, and with lots of of thousands and thousands of US Dollars sunk into the cleanup, stakeholders are sharply divided on the good points recorded. While officers thump their chests out of satisfaction with the work completed to reclaim the polluted land and water our bodies, critics describe the atmosphere as remaining in dire state, despite humongous funds expended. While the Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, had, in 2023, disclosed that the mission acquired about $360,000,000 in funding, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mike Nwielaghi, not too long ago handed a vote of confidence in the coordinating physique, saying: “Remediation work is an intangible activity. If you look at the fact that hundreds of dollars have been put underground, there could be no appreciation, because what we are seeing is the same grass that is growing. I can say without fear of equivocation that there has been value for money spent on the remediation projects.”
But a bunch, Ogoni Business Owners in America, has sharply disagreed. A press release by its president, Anthony Waadaah, claimed that “over $1bn has been spent in the name of the Ogoni cleanup project under HYPREP. Yet, if you walk through Ogoniland today, it does not look like a place where such a humongous amount of money has been spent. The water remains polluted, the soil is poisoned, the air is toxic, and our people continue to die of preventable diseases.” According to him, HYPREP has been hijacked by politicians and their cronies and used it as “a platform for enrichment instead of a mission of restoration. HYPREP, which was meant to heal our land, has been turned into a mortgage instrument trading the hope of our people for contracts and kickbacks. Instead of cleaning Ogoniland, it now harasses and intimidates those who expose corruption.”
Between HYPREP and its critics, the fact can’t be far-fetched. This is why observers ought to pay shut consideration to unfolding developments involving the mission and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives. Earlier this month, the Committee issued a seven-day ultimatum to HYPREP to seem earlier than it over allegations of economic misconduct contained in the 2021 and 2024 audit reviews of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF). The PAC resorted to the ultimatum following repeated failure of HYPREP officers to honour invites. The queries amounted to a whopping N400 billion. Chairman of the committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, mentioned HYPREP officers should seem earlier than the committee by Monday, October 12, 2026, saying failure to accomplish that would go away the House with no selection however to invoke its constitutional powers to compel look.
Among different issues, the PAC is probing HYPREP for failing to submit its audited accounts to the OAuGF between 2017 and 2021; an alleged irregular award of contracts and non-deduction of statutory taxes amounting to $2.1 million; cost of N986 million for consultancy providers with out proof of execution; irregular cost of N315 million for coaching; and N7.2 billion paid for poorly executed contracts. The mission was additionally requested to clarify the cost of N268 million with no prepayment audit, non-deduction of N32 million in statutory taxes, and the engagement of exterior solicitors for N31.8 million with out approval from the Attorney-General of the Federation. The parliamentarians are demanding solutions to the audit queries on crude oil restoration from remediation websites with out correct documentation, the adoption of a progressive wage scale for contract workers, and extra-budgetary expenditure of N931 million. There was additionally alleged duplication of providers by way of contracts price N182 million, duplication of monitoring and analysis capabilities valued at N507 million, and alleged irregular cost of N43 million for commercials with out proof of efficiency. According to the lawmakers, the 2024 Audit Report additionally raised questions over an unverified N1.5 billion cost mentioned to have been made as compensation by HYPREP, non-retirement of N14 million in money advances, irregular cost of N229.1 million, and the cost of N260 million for a coaching programme with out proof that the programme was executed. Worse nonetheless, the AuGF report additionally alleged that entry was denied to paperwork and data of initiatives price N27.5 billion. As the 7-day ultimatum handed with none replace from the House PAC, the points raised are grave sufficient for involved stakeholders to pause and mirror on the state of affairs in Ogoniland. If the authorities is accelerating consultations, why can’t it be sure that HYPREP is topic to legislative scrutiny? Transparency and accountability function a obligatory basis for mutual understanding, peace, and lasting decision of the Ogoni disaster. There isn’t any want to put the cart earlier than the horse. As advocated by Waadaah’s group, the authorities shouldn’t be in “a hurry to reopen oil operations in Ogoniland. First, clean the land. Second, account for how the $1bn and the missing $300m were spent. Third, rebuild the trust that has been destroyed for decades.” While the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is unrelenting in pushing for an amicable resumption of oil manufacturing, it will enhance the confidence of stakeholders in an natural resumption of drilling
