Oil Spill: RSG Seeks Better Deal For Ogonis

The Rivers State Government, has promised to push the request of the Ogonis for a quick and lasting solution to the outcome of the United Nations Environmental Programme(UNEP)repo-ort on environmental remediation for Ogoni land.
The pledge was made on Monday by Governor Chibuike Amaechi when the umbrella body of the Ogonis, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP) led by its President, Barrister Ledum Mitee conducted a peaceful protest to the Government House, Port Harcourt over delay in implementing the UNEP report.
Represented by his deputy, Engr Tele Ikuru, Amaechi declared that the situation needed immediate action especially as it concerned the Ogoni clean-up. “The situation which the Ogoni man lives is such that several people will continue to die of illnesses some of which you cannot fathom,” he said.
The Governor who called on the Federal Government to give the report the required attention said,” we are waiting and hoping that the Federal Government and its agencies will put this at the front burner,” and assured them that their request would be tabled before the presidency.
On the part of the state government, Amaechi stated that consultations had begun with Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC) and the Federal Government to provide interim measures, while a lasting solution was being worked out.
It was against this backdrop that the Rivers State Governor said that the State Government had begun distributing treated water in tankers to the affected areas ,where the UNEP report indicated heavy presence of benzene in their drinking water.
Amaechi also noted that,” the permanent solution would be to ensure that the Ogoni people have good water to drink, but it is not just about water alone. What about their livelihood? What about their land? So many things are indeed contaminated.”
While commending them for their peaceful disposition during the protest, the Governor assured them of delivering their letter of protest personally to the President, and expressed the hope that it would receive immediate action.
In his address earlier, President of MOSOP, Barrister Ledum Mitee noted that the protest had become necessary due to delay in implementing the UNEP report, including failure by the Inter-Minsterial Committee set up by the government to evolve measures to address the matter.
He added, “we want to know who are those people in the Federal Government who are delaying these issues”.
The Ogoni leader who lamented the poor living conditions in most of the affected communities blamed it on long years of neglect and oil exploration. As a result, he revealed that MOSOP had dragged Shell to court in the United Kingdom and the United States of America to seek redress over the situation.
“These are ways by which the Ogonis show that they can resolve issues in the Niger Delta by peaceful means. And that is why we have come today to say that we are tired and to ask how long our people will continue to drink this poisoned water before we hear from the Federal Government?.
“We thought that consistent with our own methods of demand, we have to take a letter of protest to the President and pass it through Your Excellency to him to say that our people need attention.
“We have taken Shell to court abroad and we want to know who are those in the Federal Government delaying these issues.”
Mitee said MOSOP would not hesitate to take necessary actions against those whose inactions had made the Ogonis to continue to suffer.
He said that in spite of an unanimous resolution passed by the National Assembly calling for the implementation of the UNEP report, government had done nothing.
He commended the State Government and the National Assembly for rising to the situation for the first time, on the Ogoni issue, stressing that the protest was timely since by 10th November, the group would be commemorating the 17th anniversary of the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other nine Ogonis hanged in 1995 by the military government.
However, following the continuous non-implementation of the recommendation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report in Ogoniland, MOSOP alleged that more deaths were being recorded in the area yearly following the contamination of their source of drinking water by oil pollution.
Mitee who made the disclosure during the peaceful protest by MOSOP to Government House, Port Harcourt, renewed the call on the Federal Government to expeditiously implement the UNEP report to save the lives of the Ogonis.
He also called for other measures to be put in place to save the people from danger of continuous drinking of polluted water.
The protesters who numbered more than two thousand carried placards some of which read “ Clean Up Ogoniland of Oil Pollution, Clean-Up The Niger Delta, Reward Non-Violence, Save Ogoni From Pollution amongst others.
Receiving the protesters at the Government House, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi said there was need for the Federal Government to expedite action on the implementation of the UNEP report, on the  clean up of the area.

Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Sagir Saleh (left) condoling Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State over the death of his Deputy in Gombe, Sunday.