– Amina Mohammed, the minister of environment, urged the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant groups to stop blowing up oil installations and embrace dialogue
– She described attacks on oil installations as a very deep wound “because when you open up oil to your environment, it takes decades to get that back”
– The minister stressed that the President Buhari administration values the rule of law and would not condone criminality
Minister of environment, Amina Mohammed appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers
Amina Mohammed, the minister of environment, has called on the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant groups to stop blowing up oil installations. She also advised the militants to embrace the path of dialogue with the federal government.
Speaking about the recent attacks on oil installations in the region, the minister noted that its impact on the environment cannot be quantified.
“Today, over 60% of the pollution in the Niger Delta are third party breaks. It is criminal. This is not being done by people coming from the outside, this is being done by people doing this to themselves.
“This is not a short term wound, this is a very deep wound because when you open up oil to your environment, it takes decades to get that back.
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“So it’s not just a question of what you do to the economy in the short term. If the economy fixes itself with the diversification, what have you done to your land? Young people need to understand,” she said.
Calling on the militants to come to the table and dialogue, Mohammed noted that the alternative, which they have chosen, was a wrong path for the future of the country and environment.
The minister stressed that the President Buhari administration values the rule of law and would not condone criminality.
Speaking after inspecting a clean-up demonstration site in Bodo, Gokana local government of Rivers state, Mohammed assured Nigerians that Buhari was fully committed to the clean-up of the oil-rich Ogoniland as recommended in the United Nations Environment Programme report.
She also confirmed that the president would be in the region on Thursday, June 2, to flag off the Ogoni clean-up programme.
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