Carry Ogoni People Along, Gov Fubara Tells Environment Minister
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has expressed the need for full participation of Ogoni people in the ongoing remediation exercise of their polluted lands and environment to give them a sense of ownership for the projects being executed to better their lives.
The governor, who emphasized the people’s inclusion in the exercise last Monday while receiving the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal and his delegation at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital also stated that their inclusion in the decision-making processes would ensure a sense of ownership and prevent acts of sabotage that could hinder the success of the exercise.
Gov Fubara was happy with the progress reports presented by the minister and noted that they demonstrated the government’s commitment to addressing the environmental degradation caused by years of oil exploration and exploitation in Ogoniland.
He, however, stressed that meaningful progress would only be achieved when affected communities were directly involved in shaping and implementing solutions. Just as he criticized the practice of awarding contracts from Abuja without community input, insisting that local engagement was key to sustaining the remediation efforts.
Governor Fubara further clarified that while he does not support awarding contracts to individuals who lack the capacity to deliver, it remains crucial for the Ogoni people to be involved in the execution of projects.
According to him, this would foster transparency, accountability and a stronger sense of responsibility among community members even as he maintained that a people-driven approach would enhance the effectiveness of the intervention programs and lead to long-term success.
“There should be buy-in, they should own what you are doing. And how do they own it? It is not by you sitting in Abuja and awarding contracts to somebody we don’t know,” the governor said, adding that, “In as much as I don’t support issuing it to somebody who cannot deliver, but the community people should be part of the process, so that they have that sense of belonging.”
The Minister of Environment was accompanied by the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh; the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall and the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey.
Their visit underscored the federal government’s commitment to the Ogoni cleanup project and broader environmental restoration initiatives. The delegation acknowledged the concerns raised by Governor Fubara and assured him of continuous collaboration with stakeholders.
The Minister and his entourage commissioned some projects executed by Hyprep during the visit.
