The people of Ogoni have called on the federal government to upgrade the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to an independent federal agency to enable it retain its staff even after the conclusion of the ongoing clean up exercise in their area.
Speaking at HYPREP’s project review meeting yesterday with Ogoni key stakeholders in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the stakeholders lamented that their people have suffered marginalisation in the federal civil service, arguing that giving the agency such legal autonomy would empower it to retain the services of Ogoni people currently under its payroll, which would in turn address the injustice.
Earlier in his welcome address, project coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, said a lot of progress had been made in the cleanup exercise under his watch.