Founding Secretary, Ijaw National Congress (INC) and a former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pastor P.Z. Aginighan, has described the launch of the clean-up of the Ogoni land and other oil impacted communities in the Niger Delta at Bodo City in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State by President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday, as in keeping with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report.
Aginighan Aginighan explained that the exercise provides a ray of hope for the present and future generations of Ogoni and other oil and gas bearing communities in the Niger Delta. “I commend Mr President for keeping his campaign promise to the Ogoni in particular and the Niger Delta generally. This action will go a long way in restoring the confidence of the people in their government”, he said in a statement. “I congratulate the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Ogoni people in general on this great milestone in the very noble history of their non-violent struggle for socio-economic and environmental justice in Nigeria which started with the proclamation of the Ogoni Bill of Rights in the early 1990s.
This is indeed a proper tribute to Ken Saro Wiwa and many other Ogoni who paid the supreme price for justice and equity. “I felicitate with the Honourable Minister of Environment Mrs Amina J Mohammed on this landmark achievement during few months of her assumption of office as Minister. There is no doubt that the transparency and selflessness demonstrated by the Honourable Minister engendered trust from the Ogoni and other stakeholders in the programme.
“It is my prayer that Mr President, having taken this bold step, will muster the political will to ensure a sustainable and transparent implementation of the clean-up of Ogoni land and by extension other oil and gas bearing communities of Nigeria that have suffered unspeakable ecological devastation for over five decades”.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/ogoni-long-walk-freedom-aginighan/
