CLAIM: The Nigerian Government Has Restored 80 Percent of Polluted Environment in Ogoniland
The Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Olusegun Dada posted a video with the claim that 80 percent of the polluted environment in Ogoniland has been restored. Dada made the post on May 25, 2025, with a video from African Independent Television, AIT, and captioned it, “80% restoration of polluted environment in Ogoniland has been completed.”
In the comment section, @waletalabii wrote, “No one can complete 80% cleanup of Ogoni ever! That place is good as de*d! Stop the lies!” while @PatrioticNGRN said “The man said the Center for Excellence project (building) is 80% completed, you people are reporting that the polluted environment is 80% restored”. As of when this report was published, the post had garnered over 136,000 views and over 2,000 replies, retweets, quotes, likes and bookmarks.
VERIFICATION
N-VA’s search through AIT Nigeria’s YouTube channel revealed that the TV station aired the video on May 25, 2025 and posted the two minute and thirty-three seconds news bulletin on Ogoni land cleanup on its channel, the same day.
Corroborating the news story is a recent statement from the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Environment saying that approximately 80 percent of the environmental restoration work in Ogoniland has been completed. This milestone was announced in a 4 minute 3 seconds video posted on the ministry’s X page on May 27, 2025 showcasing significant progress in the ongoing clean-up efforts.
However, it is important to note that this figure has been met with some scepticism. Independent assessments, including an AP and Arise News report have raised concerns about the actual effectiveness of the clean-up. For instance, a leaked United Nations report from late 2024 criticised the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, for mismanagement, including the selection of unqualified contractors and inadequate laboratory testing. The report also found that some areas remained heavily polluted despite claims of restoration.
Additionally, while progress has been made in certain areas, challenges persist. The mangrove restoration project was reported to be 75 percent complete in December 2024 but independent monitoring has indicated that some sites declared as remediated still contain contamination levels above acceptable thresholds.
CONCLUSION
The claim that 80 percent of the environmental restoration in Ogoniland has been completed is MISLEADING, as independent evaluations suggest that the actual progress may be less substantial, with ongoing issues related to pollution levels, project management, and transparency.
