The Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority (OCIA) has announced that it will not participate in the Rivers State local government elections scheduled for Saturday, insisting the process is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

President of the authority, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, speaking in a follow-up interview after a virtual media briefing of a gathering of Ogoni people to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the presentation of the Ogoni bill of rights at Bori, Khana L.G.A Rivers State, said the appointment of a Sole Administrator in the state who in turn appointed the RSIEC chairman, violates constitutional provisions and undermines the people’s right to self-determination.

“The Ogoni people will not vote in a process that denies our right to self-determination,” he said.

On the state of the Ogoni clean-up exercise, Diigbo faulted its credibility, arguing that it is being carried out with an outdated UNEP report.

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“A clean-up without a jointly reviewed UNEP report, guided by due process, is cosmetic,” he said. “The UNEP report has expired—its goals unmet. What doctor diagnoses a disease and delays treatment for 14 years? For a land poisoned for over 75 years, would you trust an expired prescription?”

He added that projects such as the proposed University of Environment do not guarantee progress without autonomy for the people, noting, “A university without autonomy is ornamental.”

The 35th anniversary of the Ogoni Bill of Rights, first proclaimed in 1990, also provided a backdrop for renewed calls for justice and dignity.

Diigbo explained, “The Ogoni Self-Government Declaration of August 2, 2012 ended agitation, if there was one. We seek dialogue and cooperation, not conflict.”

Earlier, in his virtual presentation, he noted that, “The Ogoni Self-Government is not a rebellion—it is a restoration. It is not a threat—it is a blessing”.

However, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), established by the Federal Government in 2016, has remained in the news for its various clean-up and restoration projects, most of which are based on recommendations from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on oil pollution in Ogoniland, submitted in 2011