Directs coordinator, Ogoni Trust Fund board chair to appear or face legislative wrath
Panel queries status of $1bn clean-up fund, Renaissance Energy’s $900m claim
By Sandra Michaels
ABUJA — The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has slammed a seven-day ultimatum on the Programme Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HyPREP) to appear before it and account for the alleged mismanagement of over N400 billion between 2021 and 2024.
The stern directive followed the adoption of a resolution at a public hearing held on Tuesday, which was attended by 27 members following the presentation of the audit report from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
Declaring the position of the panel, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, noted that the ultimatum serves as a final warning after HyPREP repeatedly shunned four earlier invitations extended to the agency.
Hon. Salam warned that if the accounting officer of the agency fails to appear before the committee by Monday, October 12, 2026, the House will be compelled to invoke its constitutional powers to enforce compliance.
“This is the final warning. The House will not sit back and watch public funds meant for critical environmental remediation managed with impunity,” Hon. Salam stated.
In a related development, the committee also extended the same mandatory summons to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Remediation Trust Fund.
According to the committee leadership, both HyPREP and the Ogoni Trust Fund must provide comprehensive accounts regarding the USD$1 billion contributed for the clean-up of Ogoniland following the withdrawal of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Lawmakers are particularly interested in investigating Renaissance Energy Ltd’s claim of having contributed over USD$900 million to the fund, raising pressing questions about transparency, disbursement, and project execution.
