Ogoni Lawmakers Flay FG Over UNEP Report

Lawmakers from Ogoni ethnic nationality under the aegeis of Ogoni forum of legislators (OFL), have condemned the approach adopted by the federal government in handling the UNEP report which excluded the Ogoni people.

In a chat with newsmen in Port Harcourt over the weekend, the leader of the forum, Senator Magnus Abe, blamed the federal government for failing to consult with the Ogoni people in constituting a technical committee for the implementation of the UNEP report.

Senator Abe, said the people expected the government to engage any Ogoni indigene of their choice to function as a liaision between the government and the people to enable them appreciated the intention of government.

The forum expressed surprise that the federal government technical committee which had no representative of Ogoni people had already submitted its report thereby keeping the people in the dark over the implementation of serious issues raised in the UNEP report. According to the leader of the forum, “we do not know what is in the report submitted because we were not consulted, therefore whatever is contained in it suffer from deficit of credibility”.

Senator Abe, who is the senator committee chairman on petroleum, insisted that the people deserve to be carried along in arriving at the decision on how to mitigate their suffering, noting that the forum of elected Ogoni legislators have set up a committee to work out an acceptable position for the Ogoni. The forum debunked insinuations of discord among the Ogonis, positing that existence of issues which happens in any other part of the country, adding that every Ogoni person is concerned about the problems in the area.

He assured that the lawmakers forum will support every progressive group in Ogoniland for the over all betterment of the people, emphasizing that its committee is already reaching out to different organizations in Ogoniland to aggregate their views.