The Ogoni Ex-artisanal Refiners Forum has begun a sensitisation programme of its leadership cadre with the aim to forestall the re-pollution of Ogoni land.
About 2000 ex-artisanal refiners were present at the first batch of the sensitisation which held at Nortem town hall in Bori, Khana Local Government area of Rivers State.
The sensitisation which was organised in collaboration with the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), had as its theme, “Revenue loss, environmental impact and health complication”, targeted at ending the menace of illegal refining activities in the area and encouraging healthy source of livelihood.
President of NYCOP, Mr Barinuazor Emmanuel, said despite the move, the Federal Government should provide alternative means of livelihood for the youth in order not return to illegal refining.
Emmanuel who is also the President-General, Rivers State Ethnic Leaders Council said; “We are here today to sensitise our people. In the UNEP report, there was recommendation that mandated that any youth of Ogoni involving in artisanal refining should be given a livelihood and also engage them.
“Those were supposed to be part of the emergency measures that HYPREP ignored but the current leadership by Dr Ferdinand Giadom and the Minister of Environment have deemed it fit that we should go back and talk to our people because oil theft is one of the most dangerous activities going on in the Niger Delta region.
“Oil theft comes with the issue of arms and drugs. So, we the youth of Ogoni have decided that we are not going to indulge in illegal refining. We are going to work with HYPREP to ensure that illegal refining stops in Ogoni land.
“NYCOP being the mother of all the youth bodies in Ogoni had been mandated to bring together all ex-artisanal refiners in Ogoni to end Illegal refinery in the area.
“What we want is to secure our pipeline because we need oil resumption back to Ogoniland.”
On his part, chairman of the Ex-artisanal Refining Forum, Teddy Ereba urged the government to train the ex-artisanal refiners and give them scholarship abroad to better their lives and also provide them with good jobs.
Deputy Secretary of MOSOP, Elvis Lebura said: “We thought about the fact that if artisanal refining is a livelihood it is not enough to canvass for clean-up. We should be concerned about possible re-pollution. We are concerned on how to forestall the re-pollution of the environment after the clean-up process has been concluded.
“We had continued in the advocacy through the support of the Minister and Project Coordinators of HYPREP. This programme intends to dissuade the ex-artisanal refiners from going back to the creeks, it will enlighten them.”
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