Desmond Iwuchukwu
The Federal Government has refuted media reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has moved the Hydro Carbon Pollution Remediation Project HYPREP from the Ministry of Environment to the Niger Delta Ministry.
The Director of Press Federal Ministry of Environment SAGHIR EL MOHAMMED in a statement said the establishment of HYPREP is guided by legal instruments and International obligations which effectively placed it under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The statement said that President Muhammadu Buhari in a recent memo directed the Ministry of Environment to deliver on the Ogoniland cleanup with dispatch.
The Director of Press Federal Ministry of Environment SAGHIR EL MOHAMMED further said that President Buhari has also approved the reorganization of the operations of HYPREP to make it more effective.
He also said that President Buhari equally directed for the full audit of the accounts of HYPREP from inception to date.
The Ministry, therefore, assures all International Oil Companies (IOCs), partners, and Ogoni Stakeholders of the commitment of the Federal Government to those instruments and obligations.
The statement also implores all stakeholders to remain calm and continue to cooperate with HYPREP as it strives to execute its mandate.
The statement added that the Federal Ministry of Environment will continue to provide purposeful leadership towards the actualization of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to clean, remediate and restore the polluted environment not only in Ogoniland but the rest of the Niger Delta and beyond.
The Full Press Statement
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT
PRESS RELEASE
We wish to assure the general public that the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) is guided by legal instruments and International obligations which effectively placed it under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Moreover, this is in line with the Government gazette and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report guiding the establishment of HYPREP as the project is aimed at solving environmental challenges and therefore is appropriately domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Environment.
We wish to further inform the general public that President Muhammadu Buhari has, vide a memo dated 28th April 2022 with Ref No, PRES/81/SGF/82 conveyed via the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, reiterated the oversight of the Federal Ministry of Environment over HYPREP and has directed the Minister of Environment to deliver on the Ogoniland cleanup with dispatch
While approving the reorganization of the operations of HYPREP to make it more effective, President Buhari equally directed for the full audit of the accounts of HYPREP from inception to date,
The Ministry, therefore, assures all International Oil Companies (IOCs), partners, and Ogoni Stakeholders of the commitment of the Federal Government to those instruments and obligations.
In this connection, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed H. Abdullahi implores all stakeholders to remain calm and continue to cooperate with HYPREP as it strives to execute its mandate.
The minister emphasized that the Federal Ministry of Environment will continue to provide purposeful leadership towards the actualization of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to clean, remediate and restore the polluted environment not only in Ogoniland but the rest of the Niger Delta and beyond. (END)
Saghir el Mohammed
Director Press
Federal Ministry of Environment
