Rivers State Governor Barrister Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike has cautioned against the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland without addressing the issue of Ogoni clean up.
Speaking when he appeared on Rhythm Fm 93.7 Port Harcourt news and current affairs programme, ‘Viewpoint’, on Saturday, the governor said that there exists a looming danger if there was no significant cleaning process in the area before the resumption of oil exploration, pointing out that as the chief security officer of the state, he may not guarantee the security of the personnel involved in the exploration.
He said that he had taken up the matter with the President when he had the inkling that resumption of oil prospecting was to begin.
“When I see a looming danger brewing, it is my duty to go to the Commander-in-Chief, who is the chief security officer of Nigeria”.
Gov. Wike further stated that he told the President frankly that he was not against oil exploration in Ogoniland, which would shore up the oil revenue of the state but that as the chief security officer that he wanted to point out the security implication to avert crisis.
This is because should anything happen, his opponents would run to the media and politicize such crisis, he said.
The governor also said that after discussing with the President, the President thanked him for his sincere advice.
“The last time I visited Mr. President, it was one of the issues I discussed with him. I said Your Excellency, I hear that somebody has been awarded OML 11 oil block for drilling. I am not against that because for the state, if the oil is drilled, the allocation to the state will increase. But it will be better that we speak to the Ogoni people. Let them know the situation or state of the clean-up of Ogoniland. If that is not done, I’m afraid, I may not be able to guarantee the safety of anybody drilling anything in Ogoniland. I’m not saying federal government should not drill but it is important to solve certain things; take the first step to say look we are doing everything possible as we have promised to clean Ogoni land; give them confidence and hope and demonstrate that something in concrete terms is happening before anybody will go in there to prospect for any oil. I told him, I have brought this concern because of the security situation and I don’t want anybody to capitalize on this and begin to cause crisis because I have always said that they are politicizing the issue of security in Rivers state. So, it is better I have brought it to your attention and Mr. President told me thank you for bring this information and I left”.
Speaking further, Gov. Wike appealed that the clean-up should be stepped up in order not to aggravate the anger of Ogoni people.
He said that as the chief security officer of the state anything that touches any part of the state affects him.
“What affects Ogoni, affects the entire state”, the governor stated.
It would be noted that there have been protests following the planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni land.
