By Obiabin Onukwugha
As the federal government moves to resume oil production in Ogoni Rivers State, a campaign to end fossil fuel extraction has been officially launched in Bori, r activists, civil rights advocates, and local stakeholders declaring that the time has come for the Niger Delta region to join the global shift toward renewable energy.
The initiative, supported by Oilwatch International, was launched by the Kallop Humanitarian and Environmental Centre at a community stakeholders’meeting in Bori, on Wednesday.
The meeting made passionate calls for the federal government to abandon plans to resume oil operations in Ogoni. Participants also criticized aspects of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly the exclusion of Khana Local Government from the Host Communities Development Trust (HostCom), despite housing oil facilities.
Executive Director, kallop Humanitarian and. Environmental Centre, Anthony Aalo, during the launch, emphasised that there is global shift from fossil fuels and the case of Ogoni and the Niger Delta at large cannot be left out.
He also explained that the campaign is a continuation of long-standing local advocacy to end fossil fuel extraction in the Niger Delta region.
“This is the beginning of a non-violent campaign to make fossil fuel extraction thing of the past in Ogoniland. Fossil fuel is now seen as dirty energy. Around the world, people are moving away from it, and Ogoni must not be an exception.
“Even before the government started talking about oil resumption in Ogoni, we’ve been advocating for an end to fossil fuel extraction, not just in Ogoni but across the Niger Delta,” he said.
Aalo noteed that the environmental impact of
decades of oil activities remains the strongest reason for the call. “You can see the devastation everywhere, polluted farmlands, dead rivers, poisoned air.
We must step forward to embrace renewable energy,” he said.
The Kallop Humanitarian and Environmental Centre executive director also raised alarm over the clause in the PIA that mandates host communities to bear the cost of pipeline repairs from their development funds and called for a review. “That’s not fair.
It’s a way for oil companies and the government to
abdicate their responsibility of safeguarding lives and property,” he stated.
Mr. Dennis Legbara of the Civil Rights Council described fossil fuel extraction as a death sentence for many locals.
“Our people are dying young because of the pollution. It’s time we follow the global trend toward clean energy.
“We must not be swayed by temporary handouts but mustthink of future generations,” he stated.
Women also lent their voice to the movement, with
Nwiluka stressing the gender impact of oil pollution. “Women can’t even farm anymore because the land is poisoned.
Let this campaign begin in earnest. It’s time,” she stated
