The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), has alleged that multinational oil companies are scheming to derail the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland.
The Ogoni clean-up process was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 2, 2016.
MOSOP also urged security agencies to tackle growing insecurity in the area due to small arms proliferation, drug abuse and alleged expansionist tendencies of some ethnic groups in Rivers State.
The alarm about the alleged plan for derailment of the clean-up process was raised by MOSOP president, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, and secretary Anthony Mbaa Porole, after a special Ogoni congress at the Peace and Freedom Centre, Bori, Rivers State at the weekend.
They noted with dismay the re-introduction of the controversial issue of restarting of oil production in Ogoniland by the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at a time its people and indeed the entire global community is expecting the Federal Government to move with some deliberate speed in the implementation of the monumental remediation and restoration of the area’s already over-polluted environment
“Congress alerted that the present attempt may be a ploy by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) and the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) both of whom are joint venture partners, to cause division amongst Ogoni people and derail the Ogoni environmental remediation and restoration process,” they said.
Although it thanked Buhari for the clean-up, MOSOP, however, noted with concern the apparent slow pace of the implementation process.
Condemning the state of insecurity in the area, the congress decried spate of killings, kidnapping and insecurity in the area, particularly the latest invasion of some Ogoni communities by their neighbours.
MOSOP called on government to provide necessary logistics and machinery for security agencies to respond appropriately to the situation.
It commended the Rivers state government for renaming the state polytechnic Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori but asked that it should upgrade the institution to become degree-awarding.”
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