President Bola Tinubu, has been tasked to investigate the $300 million, allegedly paid by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under the former Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari as compensation to the Ogoni people for Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11, which was allegedly diverted.

An Ogoni Indigenous non- governmental Organisation, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), claimed that the fund was diverted by the previous administration of the Rivers State Government under Nyesom Wike in collaboration with certain individuals who claimed to be representing Ogoni interests.

President of the Organization, Dr. Douglas Fabeke, decried that the Ogoni people have been subjected to grave injustice, fraud, and mismanagement of funds meant for their development and environmental restoration by the sad development.

According to him, there is need for a detailed public report on which communities were allegedly engaged by the said fund.

Fabake at the weekend during a meeting in Khana Local Government Area in Rivers State, urged president Tinubu to set up an independent investigation into the diversion of the fund with those responsible held accountable.

He said, though, the Wike-led administration had repeatedly claimed that it negotiated and reached a settlement with Ogoni communities regarding the said compensation, however, till date, the government has failed to provide any evidence of the communities it engaged, nor presented any settlement agreement to support its claims.

While recalling the efforts of the Initiative in the case that led to the victory of the Federal Government through the NNPCL over Shell through the supreme Court and the promises made during the court victory celebration which was never fulfilled, Fabeke urged the president to take a bold step to address the issue, lamenting that the Ogoni communities have been sold.

Additionally, Fabeke alleged that the Hydrocarbon pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), which was entrusted with the $1billion allocated for the environmental cleanup of Ogoni land, has not properly utilized the fund, adding that the projects are poorly managed.

He said, despite the passage of time, there is little to no tangible progress in the cleanup efforts as the people of Ogoni continue to suffer the devastating effects of decades of oil pollution, yet those entrusted with their welfare exploit their plight for personal gain.

The president of OLI, regretted that the livelihood program of HYPREP does not meet the standard as provided in the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Report, claiming that the clean-up exercise is not done in accordance with the recommendation in the Report.

“We also discovered that some of the locations were these alleged clean up exercises were carried out; do not exist in Ogoni land. We have written several letters to the Minister of Environment Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal to draw his attention to the failure of this project, which has been repeatedly ignored or disregarded for reasons best known to him. The minister has continually refused to intervene and address the genuine concerns of the Ogoni people and all other affected communities” he stated.

“We categorically condemn this continued economic and environmental injustice against the Ogoni people” he added.

He called for a forensic audit of HYPREP’s spending to determine how the $366 million meant for the cleanup of Ogoni land has been utilized and an immediate and genuine engagement with the Ogoni people to ensure justice, proper compensation, and an effective cleanup of the polluted lands.

He further, demanded for a total restructuring of HYPREP for effectiveness to enhance their performance for the benefits of the communities. (The Guardian)