By Obiabin Onukwugha
An environmental activist, Mr. Friday Mbani, has warned that Ogonis must unite to recover stolen oil wealth from the area and the Niger Delta region at large.
Mbani made the submissions at a press conference by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday,
He said HYPREP is the only avenue with which the Ogoni environment can be restored. “Any attack on HYPREP is an attack on Ogoni people. This is the
hope of restoration, of remediation, of bringing back the loss and damage that we have suffered in Ogoni,” he said.
The CSOs were reacting to a recent protest carried out by a group of persons under the aegis of Ogoni CSOs, against the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project, HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof Neenibarini Zabbey, at the Federal Ministry of Environment in Abuja.
Mbani, who is the Executive Director, Lekeh Development Foundation, LEDEF, warned that HYPREP still has a lot to do in the remediation of Ogoni as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Program, UNEP.
“I want to advise my brothers and sisters of Ogoni, enough is enough. We must not be fighting ourselves. We still have a lot to go for. The world is talking about loss and damage fund. The money in that loss and damage fund is enough to restore the entire Niger Delta.
“Every dollars collected from Ogoni, from the Niger Delta have been channeled to other countries. We need to demand actions, strategy and go and bring back our money to clean our land,” he said.
Mbani also called on HYPREP to remain transparent and accountable so as to avoid unnecessary attacks. “HYPREP is very close to us, do your petition and send to HYPREP. In a situation you don’t get the result then there is an advocacy you can also do before you go for protest. I will also appeal to HYPREP to be open. Be open for transparency and accountability,” he stated.
Earlier, the CSOs, made up of Society For Women And Youth Affairs, SWAYA, Centre For Gender Equity And Development, KEBETKACHE Women Development And Resource Centre, LEKEH Development Foundation, LEDEF, Pius Dukor Foundation, Centre For Environment, Human Right And Development (CEHRD), Rainbow Watch And Debvelopment Centre, MIIDEEKOR, Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), disowned the group, stating that such body was unknown to them.
Speaking on behalf of the CSOs, Mr. Mike Gbarale, stated that while HYPREP may not have fully achieved its mandate, it has made a lot of progress given the extent of damage to the Ogoni environment.
“No doubt, HYPREP may not have fully achieved its mandate, but, given the extent of the damage to the Ogoni environment, the recovery of the environment cannot realistically be fully achieved within 3 years,” he stated.
