Abuja: The Democratic Front (TDF) says the approval of a university in Ogoniland is a statement of intent by the Federal Government to the people to heal long-standing grievances against the government. The group, in a statement on Sunday by Malam Danjuma Muhammad, its Chairman, said the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni will serve as a reminder of efforts to solve environmental issues in the place.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Ogoni people have endured environmental pollution and degradation caused by oil spillage and activities of oil prospecting companies in the region. Years of neglect had also allowed the degeneration of Ogoni environmental issues into an ethno-political crisis, which has persisted since the late Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) were executed in 1995.

The statement highlighted that the establishment of the university serves as a symbolic monument to the tragic environmental history of the Ogoni people and as a precursor for deterrence against the misgovernance that triggered it. The group also commended President Bola Tinubu for meeting key Ogoni stakeholders and instituting a permanent solution.

The TDF urged the people of the Ogoni community and other oil-producing communities to view this initiative as an opportunity to pursue academic excellence, with a focus on protecting their economic environment. The group emphasized that the decision underscores the Tinubu administration's commitment to environmentally friendly policies.