Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi has called on the Ogoni people to declare a one-day fasting for God to make the Federal Government release one billion dollars (N170 billion) from the 49.8 billion dollars allegedly missing for the implementation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Report on Ogoni.
Speaking, yesterday, in Bori, Khana local government area of the state, during the inauguration of the local government executives of Save Rivers Movement, a pro-All Progressive Congress (APC) group, Amaechi flayed the delay on the part of the Federal Government to release the money for the clean up of oil pollution in Ogoni land.
“UNEP finished all they did. They said ‘spend one billion dollars to clean up Ogoni’. Have you seen the one billion dollars? Without the UNEP Report, you cannot fish, you cannot farm. 49.8 billion dollars is missing. If they say it is not true, let them tell us where it is. They should bring one billion dollars from the 49.8 billion dollars to do UNEP”, he said.
Speaking further, Amaechi thanked the Inspector General of Police for providing tight security for the rally which could not hold the previous week, because some hoodlums came shooting sporadically to scare the organisers. But the governor lashed out at the state police commissioner, Mr Joseph Mbu, over alleged abuse of federal might, describing his political foes in the state as hungry politicians.
According to him, their target was to plunder the state’s resources. “They are thieves, corrupt people who say they want to serve you. They have a problem, stomach infrastructure problem”, he said.
While urging his supporters not to take the law into their hands, Amaechi urged them to ensure they got their voter’s cards, adding that they should also be part of the APC membership registration exercise billed to commence in February. “I don’t want you to take the law into your hands. But make sure nobody shoots at you.
“If a man slaps you and gets away with it, he will come back tomorrow. Go to INEC for your voter’s card. It is the weapon you have to vote out bad government”, he said.
The governor also said he was apologising to the gathering on behalf of the police for the rally which was aborted, last Sunday, by suspected hoodlums in Bori even as he spoke on some of the successes his administration had recorded in Ogoni land.
