By: Felix Ikpotor
Youths and stakeholders in Ogoni have expressed satisfaction with the ongoing restructuring of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, by the Federal Government through the sacking of the erstwhile Project Coordinator, Dr. Marvin Dekil and relieving the Governing Council and the Chairman, Board of Trustee, Mr. Wale Edun of their positions.
The youths and stakeholders in a press statement jointly issued Monday in Port Harcourt by Comrade Legborsi Yamaabana, President General of Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) and Dae Stephen Deegbara, Spokesman, Ogoni Civil Society Stakeholders’ Forum also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his courage to implement the United Nations Environmental Report, UNEP, on Ogoniland and Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Abubakar for his resolve to overhaul the agency for optimal delivery of the project.
They accused the sacked Project Coordinator and BoT Chairman of contributing in bastardizing the exercise.
The youths and stakeholders however, urged the Federal Government to immediately replace the sacked coordinator with the appointment of a substantive coordinator from the Ogoni extraction, stressing that the area has qualified manpower in environment and other related fields to effectively take up the position.
The statement reads in part: “ Ogoni youths and stakeholders insist that the Project Coordinator that was designated and reserved for the Ogonis be maintained as Ogoniland parades an array of the best hands in specialized disciplines related to environment within and outside Nigeria, if there is no political interference,”
“Ogoni youths and stakeholders also demand for the sack of the Communications Consultant and the Head, Community and Communications Unit of HYPREP, as they lack professionalism and have failed in their responsibility to effectively bridge the wide communication gap between the Ogoni people and the agency”
“ Ogoni youths and stakeholders demand for a review of the profile of HYPREP contractors to ascertain their competency and capacity to execute the project and their employment casualization scheme of Ogoni youths with a view to exposing the flagrant violation of Section 7 of the Labour Act, CapL1, Laws of the Federation of Nugeria 2004 by HYPREP and its contractors as Ogoni youths are neither evenly paid nor given employment letters even after one year of engagement”.
While expressing satisfaction with the manner the Acting Project Coordinator, Professor Philip Shokwolo has acted so far, the stakeholders said any attempt to bring back Dekil and Edun to the agency through the back door “will be fiercely resisted by the Ogoni people as it would be seen as an affront to the collective will of Ogonis and may trigger serious unrest, chaos and anarchy in the area”
The youths and stakeholders also demanded the relocation of the HYPREP office to Ogoniland for purposes of proximity and removal of all bureaucratic bottlenecks to enable the agency’s procurement processes to go swiftly.
The statement called on Ogonis to be alert in order to avert any sinister attempt to derail the project through foisting of puppets to drive the Ogoni clean-up.
