Stakeholders hold talks on implementation of Ogoni clean up 

President Muhammadu Buhari is to flag off the commencement of the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme report (UNEP) on Ogoni.

But the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has warned against the politicisation of the process leading to the implementation of  the UNEP report for positive  results  to be achieved. 
 
The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, during a stakeholders meeting with Ogoni leaders in Bori, Rivers state last week, revealed that President Buhari will within the next couple of weeks visit Ogoni to flag off the clean up of the pollution sites in line with the recommendations of UNEP report.

Mohammed, who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Environment, Mr. Usman Jibril and chief executives of key parastatals linked to the implementation of the UNEP report, told Ogoni leaders that the federal government will start the implementation of the report process immediately.

She explained that having visited some of the polluted sites, she had been privileged to see the extent of the devastation of the Ogoni environment.

Mohammed stated that since she assumed office, she had assiduously studied the UNEP report and described the clean-up exercise as huge.

While blaming the problem on years of neglect of the environment, the Minister appealed for unity among Ogoni people so that the clean up process will not be compromised by internal strifes.

The president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, lauded the effort of the government to commence the clean up, but demanded that a state of emergency should be declared in Ogoni.

Similarly, Governor Nyesom Wike, while addressing the Minister and her team   at the Government House, Port Harcourt, said that issues of the environment are beyond political party affiliation since they affect everyone. 

According to him, because of the negative impact of the environmental challenges on the  communities, any attempt  to  politicise the  process will affect the eventual  outcome.
 
“I just want to advise that the Minister and her team should be cautious while handling issues concerning the implementation of the UNEP report, especially the stakeholders meeting, environmental issues are beyond politics” he said.