BENJAMIN OMOIKE, Lagos
Abuja, July 11, 2016 – A Member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Fred Agbedi, representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State, has called to question, the sincerity of the Federal Government in its purported attempt to clean up Ogoni-land.
Speaking with reporters in Yenagoa, Hon. Agbedi said the flag-off ceremony for the environmental remediation exercise was President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘photo-trick’ on the Ogoni people.
He noted that several weeks after the ground-breaking launch of the clean-up performed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who represented Buhari at the event, men and materials have not been mobilised to site in Ogoni land. Agbedi, a one-time chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa, said the delay by the Federal Government to commence the clean-up shows it is not serious.
“The Federal Government said it is embarking on the clean-up of Ogoni land. Up till now, no equipment and personnel have been deployed for the clean-up. It is a mere photo-trick to deceive Ogoni people, “he said.
The House Committee chairman on Gas Resources also said that the fiscal policies of the Buhari administration were responsible for the economic hardship being faced by Nigerians, stressing that “If drastic measures are not taken, it may turn the nation into crises.”
Agbedi hinted that he and some members of the National Assembly would soon sponsor a bill for a referendum on true federalism and resource control as the panacea to the socio-economic challenges of the nation.
“The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi will appear before us and say one of his challenges was that of illegal miners, and that the Federal Government is working out ways to organise those that can be encouraged into co-operatives. But when it comes to the Niger Delta region and our people refining our crude, they call it economic sabotage. They don’t see anything good in us. But our resources which they feel belong to them, with that posture, there will be no peace,” Agbedi said.
