NNPC Plotting Further Destruction Of Ogoniland, Youth Allege

The Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF), the umbrella body of all youth in Ogoniland, has accused the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of plotting to further destroy the already devastated Ogoni environment.
OYF, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by its National Coordinator, Comrade Yamaabana Legborsi, urged the NPDC to stop encouraging crisis in Ogoniland, by allegedly arming the youth.
The statement reads in part, “The Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF), an umbrella body of all Ogoni youth has taken note of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that was culprit in the bastardisation of Ogoniland’s surreptitious moves to enter into Ogoniland for oil exploration, and consequently cause further damage to the environment.
“While Ogoni communities are still battling with the hazards that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) caused, and the inability of the Federal Government to quickly remediate and restore the already over-polluted environment as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), NPDC is planning to increase the woes of the people.
“We are totally against further damage to our environment, which was why we held a meeting recently and resolved as follows: That the Federal Government should go beyond rhetoric and immediately start the implementation of the recommendations of UNEP report on Ogoniland.
“That NPDC should stop encouraging crisis in Ogoniland by allegedly arming the youths; that SPDC is 90 per cent liable for the environmental misfortune that has befallen Ogoniland and should be prosecuted for the damage done.
“That SPDC should provide alternative source of potable drinking water to Ogoni communities that are drinking water confirmed by UNEP to contain hydrocarbon and benzene, a substance that causes cancer,” the statement indicated.