The House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities is working on legislation that could extend environmental remediation beyond Ogoniland to other oil-polluted communities across the Niger Delta.
Committee Chairman Dumnamene Dekor announced the proposal after a two-day inspection of projects being implemented by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project in Rivers State. He said the committee was consulting HYPREP and the Federal Ministry of Environment on a framework for wider intervention.
The delegation visited sites including mangrove restoration work in Bomu, a cottage hospital in Bua, an electricity distribution substation in Wiiyaakara and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration.
Dekor described the Ogoni programme as a potential model for addressing the wider region’s longstanding pollution problems. He said several inspected projects had progressed beyond 80 per cent completion, while warning that contractors whose work remained stalled could face recommendations for cancellation.
He singled out a water project in Bua Yeghe, saying its condition had shown little improvement since a previous inspection. The committee intends to engage HYPREP management and may summon contractors to explain delays and variations.
HYPREP Project Coordinator Nenibarini Zabbey said the agency was managing more than 130 sites across remediation, shoreline cleaning, potable water, healthcare, mangrove restoration and skills training in Ogoniland’s four local government areas.
Zabbey said approximately 2,400 young people had been listed for training under the skills programme, and pointed to healthcare investments, including an oncology service. He also described a human-health biomonitoring study coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to examine possible effects of hydrocarbon exposure.
The proposed regional expansion remains at the legislative development stage. Its success would depend on an enforceable funding and oversight structure, credible environmental assessment and timely completion of existing Ogoni commitments.
