By: Felix Ikpotor
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Professor Nenibarini Zabbey has assured that the Project will implement the recommendations of Report of the Technical Planning Committee (TPC) on the Centre for Excellence and Environmental Restoration, CEER.
Professor Zabbey gave this assurance when Chairman of the Committee, Professor Don Baridam, led other members to present the Report at the Project Coordination Office (PCO) in Port Harcourt, stating that the report will be submitted to the HYPREP Governing Council with the hope that the Council would expedite actions towards the immediate operationalization of the centre.
Commending the 13 man Committee for its commitment, expertise, and hard work in preparing the report, the Zabbey stressed that establishing the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration is a significant step in the remediation of hydrocarbon pollution in Ogoniland and beyond.
He said: ”This Centre will serve as a hub for innovative research, skill development, and environmental management, providing sustainable pollution prevention, control and ecosystem restoration solutions
” For Ogoniland, this means a cleaner environment, improved public health, and opportunities for economic empowerment through skills training and employment.
”Nationally, the Centre will position Nigeria as a leader in environmental remediation and restoration, fostering innovation and best practices in pollution management primarily through the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre housed in the CEER”
Zabbey also announced the expansion of the Centre’s original remediation-related laboratories to include biotechnology which he said is in compliance with Federal Government’s directive that HYPREP should contribute to national food security, adding that the move will enhance phytoremediation studies and crop improvement research to contribute to national food security and sovereignty.
While presenting the brief on the report, Professor Ibisime Etele, Officer Overseeing the CEER highlighted the key deliverables of the TPC-CEER which include: the development of an advisory document on a Bill for CEER, Core curricula and Governing Council recommendations, an advisory document on co-financing, collaborations with institutions and sustainability, a staffing and recruitment strategy and an advisory.
The report also made other recommendations such as a clear legal framework for the establishment of the CEER as an independent Centre of Excellence in Nigeria, the Centre be run under the 2016 Gazette of the Federal Ministry of Environment, setting up HYPREP, and the CEER should work within three pillars of training and research namely, environmental protection, remediation and restoration, livelihood support programmes for value chain actors and supporting safe food including clean water production from restored areas for public health restoration.
Additionally, the report proposed damage assessment surveys for environmental restoration, environmental restoration project planning and design, environmental remediation project implementation, environmental remediation project management, environmental economics and management and development studies.
The centre which is over 80% completion is expected to serve as a data repository and hub for cutting-edge research in environmental remediation in the region. The report further shows that the Centre will serve as a hub for research, innovation, training, and policy developments, primarily dedicated to advancing the science and practice of environmental remediation and restoration, foster collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and contribute to the development and implementation of effective environmental remediation and restoration, and livelihood enhancement strategies with a primary mandate to showcase and disseminate information on best practices in environmental remediation, restoration and management with special emphasis on the remediation of hydrocarbon pollution in soil, sediments, groundwater and air.
