Below is an article published by Daily Times NG:

Senator Magnus Abe has expressed shock over the exclusion of the Ogoni people from the committee set up by the Federal Government for the clean-up of Ogoni land.

While addressing journalists alongside his statesmen, on Saturday in Port Harcourt, the convener of the meeting and Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, said that the Federal Government ought to have engaged the people of Ogoni land in carrying out its investigation on the report.

“As we speak, we don’t know what recommendations the committee has made. We don’t know parts of the report what they look like, we don’t know what they considered, we don’t know what they are planning to do, we don’t even know when they are going to do it," Abe said.

"But what we want to say is that while we are not against whatever report the committee have, we want to make it clear to the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that the people of Ogoni were not consulted and have not been consulted by the Federal Government. We are not aware of what they are planning and how it is to be done.”

The Senator, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream Sector, said it was saddening that since the report had been made public nothing had been done to clean up Ogoni land.

He urged the Federal Government to appoint an Ogoni indigene who knows the plight of the people as a member of the committee.

“We also appeal to the Federal Government to appoint any Ogoni son or daughter of their choice to act as a liaison between the committee and the people of Ogoni so that our people will not only know that something is being considered, they will also know the things that are been considered and have an opportunity to make input into what the committee is doing,” he said.