08/10/2026
Ogoni Cleanup: Youths’ Peaceful Disposition, Support Driving Success — HYPREP PC Prof Zabbey
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has attributed part of the gains recorded in the Ogoni Cleanup Programme to the peaceful disposition, support, patience and understanding of Ogoni youths.
The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, stated this on Thursday while addressing Ogoni youths at the Youth Quarterly Engagement Meeting held in Port Harcourt.
Zabbey urged the youths to remain committed to peace and constructive engagement, stressing that environmental restoration could not succeed without peace, while development could not be sustained without a clean and healthy environment.
He reiterated HYPREP’s commitment to ensuring that Ogoni youths benefit directly from the Project’s activities, citing the training of over 2,400 youths in high-demand skills across HYPREP’s livelihood training centres and the recent engagement of 1,432 community workers for shoreline cleanup and mangrove restoration projects.
According to him, more than 8,500 direct jobs have been created for Ogoni youths and women through the Project.
The Project Coordinator also highlighted HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity, noting that women account for 45 per cent of its community workers, while 300 Ogoni persons living with special needs have been trained in five different skill sets.
Beyond the figures, Zabbey said HYPREP was focused on ensuring that Ogoni youths were not merely beneficiaries of the Project but active partners and owners of the process of rebuilding Ogoni.
He charged the youths to actively engage with the process, take advantage of available opportunities and ensure that the benefits of environmental restoration and economic renewal translated into improved livelihoods and a more progressive Ogoni.
Participants at the meeting also delivered goodwill and solidarity messages, while the interactive session provided an opportunity for HYPREP and Ogoni youths to exchange views, receive feedback and strengthen collaboration towards achieving a sustainable and people-centred cleanup programme.
The event was attended by the Director of Technical Services, HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi, and the Renaissance Africa Energy Company (RAEC)/JV Representative on the Project, Engr. Ehioze Igbinomwanhia, among other dignitaries.
