Ogoni clean-up will be Nigeria’s biggest scam – MOSOP

The new President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Fegalo Nsuke, has declared that the Ogoni clean up exercise if implemented as it is will be Nigeria’s biggest scam. Nsuke made the declaration on Friday in Bori, the traditional headquarters of the Ogoni people while speaking to newsmen shortly after the Ogoni day celebration held at the open field of the Birabi Memorial Grammar School (BMGS). “Well, the reality about the Ogoni clean-up is that it has been more of lies than truth and that’s why I will say that if implemented the way it is, it’ll be Nigeria’s biggest scam. If you read the UNEP report, it states that there should be water provided for the Ogoni people before you commence the clean-up. The reason is because when you commence the clean-up, you’re going to be doing a lot of excavations and that means we’re not going to have good water to drink any longer. We’re not going to have fine water to drink any longer. So, the first thing that is supposed to be done is the provision of water. “Secondly, if you read the report, it says that there should be an integrated soil management centre”, he said, adding that the reason is that the polluted soils that would be excavated from the sites need to be treated at the integrated soil management centre and not to dump the wastes back into the communities. “Now, you don’t have any of these in place and you want to hurriedly award contracts and say you want to do clean up. My take is that they’re just about spending the Ogoni money on the 2019 elections because they’ve not provided the basic infrastructure to support the clean-up. They’re desperate to spend the money and not to follow the right procedures,” Nsuke stressed. In his address presented at the 27th celebration of the Ogoni day in Bori, headquarters of Khana LGA in Rivers State, he thanked the people for their show of solidarity, pointing out that by their massive turn out to the event they have demonstrated a strong resolve to work together and advised Ogoni people to always stand for each other. Conspicuously absent at the Ogoni day celebration was Mr. Psaro Pyagbara, outgoing President of MOSOP, whose tenure expired on the 31st of December last year, but has insisted for a six months tenure elongation because, according to him, MOSOP constitution provides for a shift in its election whenever it coincides with a general election in the country. It is not known if Pyagbara’s request was granted but the faction opposed to the tenure elongation went ahead and instituted the processes for the change in leadership of the foremost Ogoni body brought to international limelight by the murdered Environmentalist and Writer, late Ken Sato Wiwa. These processes led to the election of Mr. Fegalo Nsuke last December as the national president of the organisation. He told newsmen that he took over office on January 1, 2019, and the Ogoni day celebration was his formal inauguration. Pyagbara could not be reached as at time of filing this report as his mobile line was not available when contacted. Our correspondent however gathered that attempts were made to scuttle the 27th edition of the Ogoni day celebration. The Organising Committee chairman of the event alleged that they attempted to assassinate him thrice in order to stop the event. Memoye Oghu, Port Harcourt