Ahead of the 2015 general election in Rivers State, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People have threatened to shun the poll should political parties fail to present Ogoni politicians as their governorship candidates.
MOSOP President, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, issued this threat in Port Harcourt during the 19th anniversary memorial lecture of Ogoni Heros.
Pyagbara explained that it was the turn of Ogoni people to occupy the governorship position of the state in the interest of justice and fair play.
The MOSOP president pointed out that the people of the area were no longer prepared to play second fiddle after being part of the economic and political development of the state for the past 47 years.
“For more than a year, we have been involved in a campaign for political equality and representation in Rivers State. This campaign is anchored on the third demand in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, which stressed that Ogoni people need adequate and direct representation as a right of all Nigeria national institutions.
“Any failure by the political parties in the state to field Ogoni candidates as their political flagbearers automatically means that the Ogoni people will not participate in the 2015 general elections,” Pyagbara cautioned.
Observing the Federal Government’s renewed interest in the implementation of United Nations Environmental Programme report, Pyagbara urged the government to remove any hindrance which might stand as a stumbling block to the realisation of a pollution-free Ogoniland.
He pointed out that it was necessary for the Federal Government to stop play to the gallery and begin the clean-up of Ogoniland as recommended by UNEP.
