FCT, Abuja
– President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is having a meeting with Rivers state governor, Sim Fubara, and the leaders of Ogoniland at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
The delegation of Ogoni leaders includes Senator Lee Maeba Senators Magnus Abe, Olaka Nwogu, Chief Victor Giadom, Chief Kenneth Kobani, Monsignor Pius Kii, Leedom Mitee, as well as Senators Bennett Birabi Barry Mpigi and Joe Poroma.
As reported by Vanguard, the meeting may not be unconnected to the Ogoni clean-up and the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, and the National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam
were also present at the meeting.
Others include the minister of Environment, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abba, and the minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed.
A coalition of civil society organisations had earlier demanded that the federal government allocate $1 trillion for the cleanup of the Niger Delta.
It will also serve as compensation for the loss of livelihoods, before the resumption of crude oil production in Ogoniland.
The group expressed concerns over the federal government’s reported plans to resume oil production in the community. It described the move as a disregard for environmental justice.
Nsuke said the expected cleanup of Ogoniland may save the land but many may never recover from the terminal diseases pervading the area and increasingly killing our people.
He alleged that Shell’s lies and irresponsibility have left an irreparable damage on the health of thousands in Ogoniland. This should necessitate an urgent need for a health audit in Ogoni, Rivers state.
In a message to President
demanding an Ogoni state, the group implored the president to find a lasting solution to the challenges the region is confronted with.
The group, therefore, asked President Tinubu to support the creation of Ogoni state to expand Nigeria’s states to 37.
