President Muhammadu Buhari
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on
Thursday asked Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo to perform the commencement of
the clean-up of Ogoniland and other
impacted communities in the Niger Delta
region in Bodo, Gokana Local Government
Area of Rivers State.
This was against the popular expectation
that the President would personally
perform the ceremony to underscore the
Federal Government’s determination to see
through the clean-up.
A new militant group in the oil-rich region,
the Niger Delta Avengers, had threatened
to disrupt the ceremony, a development
that had generated tension in the country.
It became clear on Thursday morning that
Buhari had asked Osinbajo to represent
him at the event.
At the ceremony, Buhari warned militants
and oil thieves to stay away from the
nation’s oil installations, saying his
administration would not tolerate the
ongoing oil theft and attacks on oil
facilities.
The President also cautioned oil firms in
the Niger Delta region to carry out their
operations in line with international best
practices by avoiding acts that would
adversely affect the environment.
In his address, read by Osinbajo, Buhari
stated, “Let me seize this opportunity to
sound a note of warning that the current
oil theft and illegal refining will not be
tolerated. The regulators of the oil industry
must live up to expectations.
“The report of oil pollution in the Nigerian
environment shows that a significant
percentage is lost due to sabotage and
wilful vandalism of oil companies’
facilities. The recent upsurge in the
blasting of pipelines in the operation areas
of several of the oil companies is a case in
point.
“These incidents have brought about
drastic reduction in our daily oil production
as well as the quantum of gas that keeps
power plants for electricity generation.
Inadequate power supply has
consequential implication on the economy
and wealth creation.
“Given the current situation in the Niger
Delta, it must be borne in mind that
destroying the Niger Delta environment by
oil companies, by militants or oil thieves
has the same end results.’’
The President noted that the ecosystem in
the Niger Delta, particularly in Ogoniland
had been damaged as a result of six
decades of oil exploration and production.
He said, “Today marks another milestone
in the life of our administration. I recall
that as a military Head of State, when I
visited Bodo Town in Ogoniland. During
that visit, I inaugurated a large fish pond
and planted a tree as a sign for that
government’s concern for the environment.
“The administration of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo engaged the United
Nations Environment Programme to
undertake a mission towards the clean-up
of Ogoniland while recommendations were
made for its (clean-up) implementation.
“The report was submitted to my
predecessor in office in 2011, but the
implementation was not accorded the
necessary support it required. The people
of Ogoniland continued to suffer from
pollution of air, land and water.”
Earlier, the Rivers State Governor, Chief
Nyesom Wike, lamented that Ogoniland and
the Niger Delta in general had gone
through pains as a result of years of
environmental pollution, but commended
Buhari for his efforts to restore the
environment.
The governor described the UNEP Report
as the best available document that would
ensure the socio-economic transformation
of Ogoniland.
The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina
Muhammed, described the occasion as a
promise that was being fulfilled by Buhari,
noting that the exercise was a collective
responsibility.
“It will require the trust that we have lost
over the decades; it will require
transparency and accountability and it will
require proper representation of the people
in what we are doing in investing in their
future,” she stated.
Also, the UNEP Executive Director, Mr.
Achim Steiner, expressed gratitude to
Obasanjo for engaging the body, adding
that the task was a great risk taken by the
UNEP team.
Steiner pointed out that UNEP was
committed to standing by the Federal
Government and the people of Ogoniland
on the clean-up process.
In his goodwill message, the former
Governor of Rivers State and Minister of
Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who
recalled that Jonathan did not yield to his
persuasion on the UNEP report, expressed
gratitude to Buhari for ensuring the
commencement of the clean-up.
“With $1bn that would be injected into this
project, the economy of Ogoniland will
improve,” Amaechi said.
The President of the Movement for the
Survival of the Ogoni People, Mr. Legborsi
Pyagbara, called on those involved in
violent agitation in the region to embrace
non-violent and peace advocacy in making
their demands.
“We also urge our government to avoid
acting in ways that tend to suggest that
they listen only when there is violence,”
Pyagbara said.
Meanwhile, no fewer than three soldiers
and four civilian residents were reportedly
killed on Wednesday evening in an attack
on a houseboat around a creek close to
Omadino/Idjere junction in the Warri South
Local Government Area of Delta State.
It was gathered that the incident occurred
between 6.30pm and 7pm on Wednesday.
Investigations revealed that the militants
struck when some of the soldiers deployed
to safeguard oil facilities in the area had
gone on a routine patrol.
A military source, who spoke on condition
of anonymity, however, said over 15 people
were killed, including 10 soldiers, who
claimed that some others jumped into the
river for safety.
The gunmen, it was gathered, stormed the
location in two speedboats and sank the
houseboat after their operation.
Although no militant group has claimed
responsibility for the attack, security
sources believed it was carried out by the
rampaging members of the Niger Delta
Avengers.
One of the civilian casualties was
identified as Tombra Iwoboibi, a caterer.
A relative of the victim, Richard
Obiayaidou, who was at the Warri Central
Hospital, where the corpses were
deposited, lamented the incident.
Obiayaidou, who wailed profusely over the
death of Iwoboibi, appealed to the Federal
Government to expedite action towards
ending the renewed militancy.
The Public Relations Officer, Warri Central
Hospital, Mrs. Success Obere, confirmed
that the hospital received seven corpses
on Wednesday midnight after the attack.
She added that the corpses of three
soldiers and four civilians, including two
females, were brought to the hospital.
Confirming the attack, the Assistant
Director, Army Public Relations, Capt
Jonah Unuakhalu, said two soldiers and
four civilians died in the attack while a
soldier was missing.
In a statement on Thursday, Unuakhalu
stated, “The suspected militants
approached the houseboat in five
speedboats, mounted with 250 horse power
engines, and disguised as normal
commuters.
“During the deliberate attack, two soldiers
were killed, one wounded, one soldier
missing while four civilian staff, attached
to the houseboat were shot dead. The
attack occurred when other members of
the troops were on pipeline patrol.’’
In the meantime, residents of Gbaramatu
cried out to the Federal Government on
Thursday to withdraw soldiers from the
communities, insisting that their people
were not behind the militant group, Niger
Delta Avengers.
Spokesperson for the Gbaramatu
Traditional Council, Chief Godspower
Gbenekama, said many of the indigenes
had become refugees in the upland city of
Warri as they had no place to stay.
Gbenekama added, “I’m surprised that
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who rode on the
back of Gbaramatu people to power, is
sleeping in Asaba, while soldiers are
bullying those that voted him to power.”
The NDA also on Thursday claimed to have
blown up another oil facility in Bayelsa
State.
“At about 2.00am today (Thursday)
@NDAvengers blew up the Ogboinbiri to
Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba
crude oil pipelines in Bayelsa State,” the
group said on its Twitter handle.
“This is in line with our promise to all
international oil companies and indigenous
oil companies that Nigeria’s oil production
will be zero,” the group added.
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