Dakuku Peterside

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Ahead of the 2017 Ogoni Day Celebration, governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections, Dr Dakuku Peterside said he “identifies with and supports the Ogoni struggle because it represents the struggle of all us.”

Dr. Peterside, who spoke in Port Harcourt, called on Ogonis to unite and work with other ethnic groups to accelerate the aspirations and the accomplishment of the dream of the founding fathers of the Ogoni struggle.

“We must enter a new phase of cross ethnic groups engagement, recognizing that it is a collective struggle of all oppressed people all over the world,” he stressed.

While saluting the resilience of the Ogonis over the years and their industry, he assured of his preparedness to back every genuine effort to make the people great.

Peterside, who is also the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency [NIMASA], commended the Federal Government on the Ogoni cleanup but was quick to ask for an accelerated process and the factoring in of human empowerment of the people whose farmland and streams have been destroyed due to prospecting and production of hydrocarbons over the years.

The former Commissioner for Works in Rivers State said the environment is the greatest gift of Mother Nature and so must be preserved for the benefit of our generation and generations yet unborn.

He said the environment and economic prosperity are interwoven, “So we must collectively work to protect the environment.”

The former National Assembly member commended the leadership of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People [MOSOP] for keeping the spirit of the struggle alive.