President of the Ogoni Business Owners in America, Chief Anthony Waadah, has said that the collapse of the overhead water tank in Ogoniland barely three days after being commission has brought disgrace upon Tinubu’s government.
Waadah who stated this in a statement on Wednesday, called on President Tinubu to take decisive action against those sabotaging his administration’s integrity.
He also urged him to declare a state of emergency on HYPREP’s activities and order a comprehensive forensic audit of its contracts and finances.
He further urged anti-corruption agencies to investigate all companies working with HYPREP, alleging that many are “fronts owned by cronies and political allies without technical capacity.”
Waadah who is a prominent monarch in Ogoniland, condemned the Ministry of Environment and HYPREP for what he termed “a deliberate act of deception and gross incompetence,” despite the $1 billion already spent on the Ogoni Clean-Up Project.
He demanded the immediate sack of the Minister of Environment, the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), and the contractor responsible for the failed water facilities in Bane and Gwara communities of Khana Local Government Area.
He insisted that the failure amounted to economic sabotage and an insult to the Ogoni people.
“It is unthinkable that a project celebrated with so much fanfare could collapse within seventy-two hours of its commissioning.
“Ogoniland does not look like a place where one billion dollars has been spent. Our people are still drinking polluted water; hospitals are non-existent; and our roads are death traps.
“These projects are not favours. They are our rights, funded by public money. Silence in the face of corruption is betrayal.
“President Tinubu should act swiftly to protect his administration’s integrity from officials who have “turned the Ogoni clean-up into a political business”, he stated
Waadah said the legacy of Ogoni heroes such as Ken Saro-Wiwa and Barinem Kiobel was being desecrated by corruption, warning that the people must not remain silent when substandard projects are executed in their communities.
