THE Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called on the Nigerian Government to show real commitment to environmental justice and human rights.

MOSOP President, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday to mark this year’s World Environment Day, lamented that decades of environmental pollution in Ogoni have questionably compromised agricultural development and sustainability and as well, impacted negatively on other spheres of the communal wellbeing.

“Today we suffer acknowledged food insecurity and declining standard of living, constituting serious threat to our inalienable right to life,” the president stated.

“Although the Federal Government of Nigeria has promised resolving the environmental challenges of the Ogoni people through genuine and comprehensive implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland, to enliven efforts at enhancing our survival, it must match the promise with action for us to take the administration seriously.”

He however, warned that politicising the Ogoni environmental crisis would be resisted by the people, adding that there are valid reports of politicians attempting to revive the moribund Hydrocarbon Pollution and Restoration Project (HYPREP), which is against the interest of Ogoni.

“We would as well warn that constituting any agency without consulting the people’s accredited representatives would amount to an affront against Ogoniland and would as well be resisted,” the Ogoni leader also stated.

“The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has recommended that an Ogoni Environmental Restoration Authority and an Ogoni Environmental Restoration Fund be set up and on this recommendation we stand,” Pyagbara added.