The president, Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Fegalo Nsuke, has hailed the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja against the Shell Petroleum Company Development Company (SPDC), saying it has opened a window of hope and relief for the Ogoni people.
He said in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State that the judgement was a vindication of the Ogoni people’s claims of environmental devastation following what he described as years of “irresponsible business practices” by Shell in the community which, according to him led to loss of many lives from diseases and repression.
Nsuke however expressed sadness that despite scientific and factual evidence against the oil firm, the federal government failed to penalise it.
“We are deeply pained that our enormous contributions and capacity to contribute to the Nigerian economy, in excess of N20 billion daily resources extracted from Ogoniland, are being deployed for the development of regions.”
“We note strongly that notwithstanding the reliefs brought by judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the people desire to see some restitution initiated by the Federal Government and Shell especially the decriminalisation of the nine Ogoni hanged by the military dictatorship on November 10, 1995,” Nsuke said.
He, therefore, called for an overhaul of the so-called Ogoni cleanup project to make it more transparent and credible.
The MOSOP president also called for a probe into the finances of its management following “obvious criminality and financial recklessness associated with the programme”.
“MOSOP wants an end to the use of repression to forcefully resume oil production in Ogoni and urges the Federal Government to refrain from further acts that will endanger the lives of the Ogoni people thereby provoking civil protests.
“We are calling for dialogue as a way to resolve all legacy issues surrounding the Ogoni conflicts and hope that the government will adopt the proposals put forward by MOSOP as the pathway to peacefully resolve the Ogoni issues,” he added.
Meanwhile, the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, has restated the federal government’s commitment towards making education and health care easily accessible to rural communities in the Niger Delta region.
Akpabio, who stated this during the commissioning and of projects executed by the ministry in Isiala Mbano and Ikeduru local council areas of Imo State yesterday, also said the ministry would also empower the youth for a better future.
The projects included a health centre constructed at Amuzari, Isiala Mbano local council and classroom blocks renovated at Nneise Technical School, Ugiri-ike in Ikeduru local council.
Represented by the director, housing and urban development, Mr. Olufemi Oloruntola, the minister disclosed that the construction of classroom blocks and health centres were being simultaneously developed in the nine states of the region, adding that the projects were at various stages of completion.
Akpabio noted that the projects, which were undertaken in pursuit of the ministry’s mandate, started in 2017 under the “Quick Win Intervention Projects” and were initiated with the aim of improving the quality of life of the people in the region.
“It is worthy of note that two other completed class room blocks and health centres furnished and equipped are also being commissioned in Delta and Bayelsa states and, more of this Quick Win Projects are still under construction, while others will commence once the 2022 Appropriation Bill is passed.
“The projects being commissioned today are some of the gains and achievements recorded by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari under the change agenda of the federal government,” he said.
The minister Akpabio said all aspects of the project were awarded to indigenous and local contractors, maintaining that the construction process benefitted the community through creation of employment opportunities for the youth.
He pledged the federal government’s unflinching commitment to redressing the pervasive inequality in the Niger Delta region and urged the communities to be dedicated to the protection and maintenance of the facilities.
