Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has empowered 620 indigenes of Ogoni in Rivers State via postgraduate scholarship grants and vocational coaching for individuals dwelling with disabilities, as a part of efforts to advertise inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods within the oil-producing communities.
The interventions noticed 500 postgraduate college students obtain scholarship grants in Port Harcourt on Thursday, October 22, 2026, whereas 120 individuals dwelling with disabilities graduated from vocational coaching programmes in trend designing and pictures in Bori, Khana Local Government Area, yesterday.
Speaking on the two occasions, HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, mentioned the initiatives mirrored the federal authorities’s dedication to human capital growth, inclusive empowerment and the restoration of Ogoni below President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
At the scholarship award ceremony in Port Harcourt, Zabbey charged the beneficiaries to deploy their tutorial data, analysis {and professional} experience in the direction of addressing the developmental challenges going through Ogoni communities.
He described the scholarship scheme as an funding within the area’s future, urging the scholars to see the grants as a name to service somewhat than merely monetary help.
“Education gives you knowledge, but it also places a responsibility on you to use that knowledge to improve society. I encourage you to see this scholarship as a call to service,” he mentioned.
Zabbey urged the postgraduate college students to develop revolutionary options, set up skilled networks and contribute to constructing a peaceable and economically sustainable Ogoni.
He defined that the scholarship programme aligned with the suggestions of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which recognized different livelihoods and human capability growth as necessary parts of the response to Ogoni’s environmental challenges.
The coordinator acknowledged issues raised by some beneficiaries over delays in disbursement however maintained that HYPREP remained dedicated to its obligations, noting that public initiatives required due course of, accountability and cautious planning.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Bara Uloma Celestine, a PhD pupil of Mathematics Education at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, mentioned the grant would ease the monetary burden related with her research and analysis.
“Despite all the expenses, I, on behalf of others, am very sure that the sum given to us will go a very long way. Not just to pay our school fees, but to carry out our various research works in our various fields and to publish some things at hand,” she mentioned.
Similarly, Mr. Bienebari Solomon Oscar, a PhD pupil of Development Studies on the University of Port Harcourt, counseled HYPREP for what he described as a clear course of.
“I can attest today, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey has shown that there are still leaders who have people at heart. The transparency of this whole programme and the way of handling everything, we are very satisfied,” he mentioned.
At the commencement ceremony for individuals dwelling with disabilities in Bori yesterday, Zabbey mentioned the coaching marked the fulfilment of an initiative that started in 2023 following appeals by the management of the Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities.
He disclosed that HYPREP commenced vocational coaching for 300 individuals dwelling with disabilities, with the primary batch of 120 graduating after finishing programs in trend designing and pictures.
The graduates comprised 60 beneficiaries educated in trend designing and one other 60 in pictures.
According to him, HYPREP had supplied starter packs to allow the beneficiaries to ascertain companies instantly after commencement. The undertaking additionally distributed assistive gadgets, together with wheelchairs, crutches, information canes, listening to aids and prosthetic legs, to assist their mobility and independence.
“What started as an appeal has today become a reality,” Zabbey mentioned, describing the initiative as proof of HYPREP’s dedication to inclusive growth.
He counseled the management and members of the incapacity group for his or her constructive engagement, endurance and peaceable method, which he mentioned helped make the programme attainable.
The coordinator urged the graduates to type cooperatives and enterprise clusters to strengthen their enterprises, assist each other and broaden their financial alternatives.
He additionally warned them towards promoting their starter packs and assistive gadgets, stressing that HYPREP had launched a post-training monitoring mechanism to trace beneficiaries’ progress.
Zabbey mentioned HYPREP’s interventions prolonged past environmental remediation to incorporate potable water, healthcare, training, livelihood assist, peacebuilding and group engagement, with the target of guaranteeing that no section of the Ogoni inhabitants was left behind.
He expressed optimism that the remaining 180 trainees would graduate in subsequent ceremonies, urging the beneficiaries to change into ambassadors of the Project of their communities.
