The Niger-Delta apex socio-cultural organisation, (PANDEF), has accused the Federal Government of systematically committing genocide in the region.
.Its spokesman, Chief Ominimini Obiuwevbi raised the concern in a media chat with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ughelli Correspondents Chapel, Delta State, stating that decades of oil pollution and Government failure to remediate its effect leading to untold hardship, diseases, and death.
Obiuwevbi said, ineptitude by the Federal Government, its continued denial, neglect, and inadequate compensation to improve the lives of the Niger Delta people from the effect of oil exploration in the region was taking a toll on the well-being and lives of the people.
The PANDEF image maker lamented and noted that the average life expectancy of Niger Deltan has dropped significantly due to harmful oil exploration substances in the air, land, and water, causing a high rate of untimely deaths.
“The land, which farm is polluted; the produce from it when eaten causes damage to our health; the water bodies from where we fish and drink from are polluted, and even the air we breathe-in is polluted with non-stop gas flaring in our lands”.
He further decried that the Federal Government lack of political will to address the age-long neglect and marginalisation faced by the oil-producing states and communities without commensurate compensation, development of these oil-bearing Communities affects the indigenes in an alarming proportion.
Additionally, he demanded to know where monies from the multi-national Oil companies, IOCs, meant to compensate the region for their failure on gas flaring in their operation in the region.
The PANDEF Spokesman, Ominimini disclosed that in due course, the Pandef would meet and send a delegation to the Federal Government and demand the fund from the IOC for gas flaring, which he noted has never been accounted for by the previous government.
