Support Our 2015 Governorship Project – Ogonis In Diaspora Urge Ethnic Groups

The people of Ogoni in Diaspora has appealed to ethnic nationalities in Rivers State to support the clamour for an Ogoni to be elected the next governor of the state, come 2015, saying it was regrettable that no Ogoni has occupied the office of the Governor, Deputy Governor or Speaker of the state House of Assembly.

This is as the Ogoni in Diaspora condemned the non-inclusion of Bori State in the list of states recommended for creation by the just-concluded National Conference, which was submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan recently.

This were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its three-day Ogoni leadership conference, organised by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People in the United States of America (MOSOP-USA), with the theme; 'Moving Ogoni Forward: One People, One Destiny”, held at Atlanta-Georgia, in the United States.

The communiqué, signed by Dumka Baabel, President, MOSOP-USA; Michael Akoka, Secretary, MOSOP-USA; Keania Baridoo Edo, Coordinator, Ogoni Diaspora Organization (ODO) and six others, called on prominent, capable, tested, visionary and compassionate Ogoni Politicians to be involved in party politics and aspire for the governorship position during the 2015 general elections.

The communiqué reads in part; “That we are appalled by the non-implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Environmental Report (UNEP) on Ogoniland over three years after its submission to the federal government of Nigeria. We view the delay as furtherance of the neglect, marginalization and a deliberate plan to extinguish the Ogoni race from the earth through environmental terrorism and therefore demand its immediate implementation.

“That Ogoni people in Rivers State of Nigeria are peaceful and therefore condemn unequivocally the politically motivated cult related killings pervading our land while we caution our youths to be vigilant and resist the temptation of being used as agents of destruction under any circumstances.

“That we are major stakeholders in the Rivers project and were at the forefront for the creation of Rivers State in 1967. Regrettably, no Ogoni has occupied the office of the Governor, Deputy Governor or Speaker of the state House of Assembly. We therefore solicit the understanding cooperation, and support of other ethnic groups in Rivers State for an Ogoni Governor in 2015.

“That we urge prominent, capable, tested, visionary and compassionate Ogoni Politicians to be involved in party politics and aspire for the Governorship position in Rivers State come 2015.

“That we strongly frown at the non-inclusion of Bori state among the states submitted by the National Conference for consideration and insist on the creation of Bori State in view of its economic viability and enormous capacity in compliance with constitutional requirements for statehood.”

Signed:

MICHAEL AKOKA
Secretary-General, MOSOP-USA
September 2, 2014

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