By: Felix Ikpotor
Atleast 300 Ogonis pursuing their postgraduate studies in different tertiary institutions have benefitted from a scholarship grant by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
The beneficiaries received scholarship grant have received N200,000,000 worth of grants, as part of a strategic approach of the Project to improve human capacity development in Ogoniland.
The beneficiaries which comprised of 200 Masters and 100 Doctors of Philosophy, PhD, students were selected through a process that started in October 2024, following an announcement of the scheme by the HYPREP Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey. The 100 PhD beneficiaries received N1,000,000.00 each while 200 Masters students got N500,000.00 each.
Speaking at the award ceremony in Port Harcourt, Professor Zabbey, said beneficiaries were selected based on merit and demonstrates HYPREP’s commitment to fairness, transparency and inclusivity in its interventions in Ogoniland, adding that the Project believes that education is a transformative tool that can unlock new opportunities and create sustainable alternative sources of livelihood for oil-impacted communities in the area.
While congratulating the beneficiaries, Zabbey acknowledged their roles as critical stakeholders and agents of change in the communities, charging them to contribute to HYPREP’s ongoing environmental and livelihood restoration by bringing to bear their expertise to promoting peace and development at the community level and communicate the cleanup mandate.
”Your role as postgraduate students is beyond academia, You are peacebuilders who must promote unity, collaboration, and peaceful coexistence within Ogoni communities and beyond. Your work and influence will serve as bridges to further connect Ogoniland, fostering continuous dialogue, mutual understanding, and collective action in the public interest” he stressed.
The Project Coordinator while attributing the successes recorded by the Project to the cooperation of the Ogoni community and commitment of all stakeholders, informed that a significant number of the projects will be completed this year.
The projects to be commissioned includes soil and groundwater remediation, shoreline cleanup and mangrove restoration, the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), the Ogoni Specialist Hospital, Buan Cottage Hospital and the Ogoni Power Projects. He disclosed that more water projects will be commissioned this year and various livelihood enhancement activities to be rolled out as well.
Professor Zabbey disclosed that HYPREP will launch new projects this year to create more jobs and strengthen the employability capacity of Ogoni youths and women, stating that digital ICT facilities will be installed in select secondary schools in Ogoni to aid learning.
Also speaking, the Head Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee reeled out the various livelihood intervention programmes of HYPREP and announced that the agency will this year, support 2000 Ogoni farmers towards ensuring food security, provide research support grants for 200 Ogoni final year students and establish 20 more Environment Club ‘Green Frontiers’, explaining that members of the Green Frontiers will be trained to nurse and plant economic, fruit trees and vegetables in Ogoni communities as part of the Project’s beautification efforts.
She noted that people living with disabilities are not left out as the Project will also be rolling out training for the group following the needs assessment collated from them.
Furthermore, Mrs Nzidee said HYPREP will carry out specialized skill training in the following areas such as seafaring, creative arts, mechatronic, commercial diving, cyber security amongst others, this is in addition to the planned support for over 500 nano businesses, SMEs and cooperatives targeted at growing the local economy.
