All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Rivers South East
Senatorial District in the yet to be concluded legislative re-run
election, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has said that the implementation of
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)report in Ogoni land is
the fulfillment of APC campaign promise.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his political will to
implement the UNEP report.
“I want to particularly thank him for his commitment to the cleanup of
Ogoniland”.
He spoke on the Rhythm Fm 93.7 news and current affairs programme tagged:
“Talk-of-the-Town”, today, Abe said that the APC deserved Commendation and
not condemnation on the implementation of the project.
He frowned at a situation where anytime credit is given to APC and himself
for the project, the state chapter of PDP would say that the
implementation should not be politicized.
“What is disturbing to me now is that now that we are set to implement the
report, every time I open my mouth and say something, you will hear people
say don’t politicize the report and I ask what the politicization of the
UNEP report is? Is it the voice of Senator Abe that is now politicization
of the UNEP report? This was the same voice when I went to every village
in ogoni land. It was our campaign slogan in the APC- $1 billion dollars,
APC. It was a campaign promise by the APC presidential candidate. The
implementation of the UNEP report in Ogoni land is the fulfillment of an
APC campaign promise. It is a programme of the APC-led federal Government
of Nigeria”.
Abe said that our politics would be better if we learn to give credit to a
party that fulfilled its campaign promise, pointing out that in so doing,
there would be a healthy competition among parties to fulfill their
promises and cited the case of Saakpenwa-Kono road flagged off by
Governor Nyesome Wike as credit to PDP to drive home his point.
“Governor Nyesome Wike was in Ogoni land to launch the Saakpenwa-Kono
road, which a lot of people have described as politics and that it’s just
a response to the visit of the President and the elections in the area.
Everybody there was making speeches how the former government did not do
- We know that that was politics but it does not stop me as an Ogoni man
from being happy that the governor remembered us. It does not stop me from
appreciating the fact that he is going to do a road that we need and I
would be one of those who will use the road even though I’m not in PDP.
Every Ogoni son who wants to pass on that road will use the road. So, we
are all happy that the governor came to do that”.
Abe, however, said that although the road project was budgeted for N100
million, which means that it was not a serious project but politics that
the governor could make it worthwhile if he had the political will to
complete it.
“I do not want to make an issue out of the fact that from the information
available to me what was projected or budgeted for the road is
N100million. It means there was actually no plan to do the road at this
time. But if he is doing the road, we are happy about it and I thank him
for remembering us at this time. I think that in the same vein, the PDP
members in Ogoni should be gracious enough to thank us and President
Buhari for the APC government coming to keep its promise to the Ogoni
people. I think it is the determination of the PDP not to acknowledge that
this is the fulfillment of a promise by the APC government that brings up
the issue of anytime you open your mouth and say this is APC government;
they say you are politicizing the report”.
The former Secretary to Rivers State Government urged every Ogoni son and
daughter irrespective of party affiliation to support the project and
cautioned that it did not preclude the APC from celebrating a promise
fulfilled.
Abe said that the journey to UNEP report began when he as the SSG and the
then governor of the state, now Minister of Transportation, Rt.Hon.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, requested, approved and supported the United
Nations team to conduct a scientific survey in Ogoniland on the oil
pollution in the area.
He further said that the move tainted their image as they were alleged to
have plotted the return of SHELL to Ogoniland for oil exploration through
the back door, stating that when the report was eventually published,
nobody gave them credit.
He said because of the love for his people, he led a delegation to former
president Jonathan and latter to the presidential candidate of APC, now
President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I wasn’t just part of the delegation to former president Jonathan. I
actually led the delegation and I read the address on behalf of the Ogoni
people, which I presented to former president Jonathan. In fact, because
of the fiery nature of what we said in that place, while I was talking,
they asked the press to leave. So, I actually handed over that address to
former president Jonathan. I also presented the address on behalf of the
Ogoni people to then presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari”, he
revealed.