Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has advised the Federal Government not to politicise the implementation of the alternative livelihood component of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recommendations on the Ogoni clean-up.
He said that Rivers State was ready to partner the Federal Ministry of Environment and Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to improve the living conditions of the Ogoni people after years of environmental degradation.
Wike stated this during a courtesy call by the Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abukabar and new members of HYPREP Board of Trustees at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
In furtherance to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the UNEP report for alternative livelihood for Ogoni women who are to be trained in agribusiness at Songhai Farms in Rivers State, the governor suggested that the Federal Government should ensure that those scheduled for the training were truly indigenes of Ogoni.
The Rivers State governor said that the inclusion of names of persons, who were not indigenes of Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana local government areas of the state, would not be in the interest of the Ogoni people who have suffered decades of environmental pollution.
Speaking on the roll out of 5,000 needs assessment forms distributed across Ogoni, the governor urged the Federal Government, and particularly members of the HYPREP board who are of Ogoni extraction, to ensure that the scheme was not politicised.
“Empowering 5,000 youths from four local government areas is not easy. So, there should be a way to cross check these names whether they’re really from the area. Everything should not be politicised.”
Wike advised the Federal Government to prioritise award of clean-up contracts to competent Ogoni contractors as a means of empowering them and boosting local economy of the four impacted councils contained in the UNEP Report.
“Whatever support you think the state can render, I will partner with you because at the end of the day it is in the interest of our people.”
The governor said the state government is not aware of Federal Government’s intention to rehabilitate some state-owned existing water supply facilities in Alesa, Bori and Terrabo sites to provide water to Ogoniland.
