The National Coordinator of the Ken Saro Wiwa’s Associates, Chief Gani Topba has given the Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP), a seven- day ultimatum to vacate Ogoniland over failure to provide potable drinking water to residents of oil impacted sites in the area.
Topba gave the order when he visited the HYPREP office, Wednesday to register his displeasure over alleged game of politics and deceits by the management of HYPREP and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin, that it was all well with the people of Ogoni.
He dispelled their position stating that a seven-day ultimatum counting from Wednesday, April 11, 2018, had been given to them to correct all the misinformation and do the needful to the people of Ogoni.
He told The Tide that 20 deaths had been recorded in Ogoniland due to drinking of contaminated water, alleging that the Federal Government was still playing bad politics with the lives of the Ogoni people, 23 years after the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa over the same issue. Topba expressed dissatisfaction over the level of work done by the HYPREP despite the amount of money that had been released for the cleanup exercise.
He thus, called for the sack of the Minister of State for Environment over alleged failure to provide potable water for the people of Ogoni in line with the recommendations in the UNEP report.
The national coordinator of the Ken Saro Wiwa’s Associates hinted that a peaceful protest over failure of the HYPREP to provide potable drinking water to the people was underway.
“It is very clear that the management of HYPREP and Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin are still playing politics with the people of Ogoni 23 years after the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa and others, as they have failed in their duties despite the huge amount of money released, they cannot provide potable drinking water for the Ogoni people.
Yet, every day the minister of state for environment is on media talking and bringing insults and shame to the Ogoni people.
“I am going to mobilise the Ogoni people for peaceful protest that would kick-start in Port Harcourt and we are also going to get it down to the minister of state for environment in Abuja,” Topba added.
He called on sons and daughters of Ogoni and all lovers of the Ogoni struggle to come out enmasse at the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum, April 18, 2018, for a peaceful protest, adding that the protest would start in Port Harcourt, where the HYPREP Head office was located and would get down to Abuja where the Minister of State for Environment, Jibrin was based.
Source: TheTide
