Elder statesman, Che Ibegwura, has urged stakeholders to cultivate peace building and intensify actions in the bid to combat negative impacts of oil and gas operations on local communities, while supporting them to build resilience against climate challenges in Nigeria.
He was speaking from his Forest Garden Quarters, Abururu Etiti Community, Erema Town, on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
Popularly known as Comrade Che, the nonagenarian who is still basking the warmth of his 93rd birthday celebrations since November 16, 2025, called on members of the public not to ignore the need to promote peace among people, irrespective of their ethnic origin.
According to a release signed by Mr. Maduku Ibegwura, for the Organizational Coordinating team, Che Ibegwura made the call while some leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) paid him a courtesy visit in his home in Egi clan of Ogbaland of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA) of Rivers State of Nigeria.
The visitors who expressed admiration for Ibegwura’s dogged stance for justice included Dr. Francis Segun Ikuponisi of Ecology and Sustainable Development Centre (Eco-outreach), Mr. Collins Lebeteh of Habitat Protection and Sustainable Development Initiative (HAPSDI), and Mr. Menidin Egbo of Community Environment and Development Network (CEDEN).
Reminiscing on his decades-long years of activism to demand improvement of life for people through promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights, Elder Ibegwura said: “The focus of my life has been to promote justice, peace and security for the entire society.”
He continued: “That is the reason I want those who got involved in peace promotion to be properly focused, and be ready to holistically address the needs of the vulnerable people; the vulnerable are the ones mostly suffering more from the problems associated with absence of peace, and problems of injustice and insecurity”.
The visitors were in Erema to participate in ‘Environmental Justice Assemblies’ being facilitated by Che Ibegwura Foundation (CIF).
The event is part of a project, with the theme: ‘Building Peace in the Fire, which seek to empower local communities for leveraging rights-based opportunities to combat conflict impacts of hydrocarbon mining in Nigeria.
CIF is a Nigerian non-profit organization, established on August 16, 2021 for carrying out works toward protecting wellbeing and rights of citizens –especially, of vulnerable groups or populations. CIF works to bring about peace and development in local communities.
According to Elder Ibegwura, the “work of the Foundation must not end in Erema”.
The nonagenarian want to see the work of the foundation “grow to the point that CIF will become useful to the nation and to the benefit of the entire society.
Ibegwura said: ”I am happy as a nonagenarian to see all of you coming here to make a contribution for advancing the course for which the Foundation is established: to accomplish a mission for a better society”.
Responding on behalf of over 65 indigenous men, women and youths of Egi clan in Ogbaland, who were invited to participate in the ‘Environmental Assembly’ of Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Dr. Kelechi Mgbonu welcomed the project of the foundation to Erema community.
He promised that the local people are ready to collaborate with CIF to mobilize grassroots involvement for addressing the sufferings occasioned by decades of reckless mining operations of oil and gas in Nigeria.
CIF is executing a local project to address extractive industry negative impacts and related climate challenges in Egiland.
The project is carried out under fiscal sponsorship partnership of Kebetkache Women Development and Resources Centre, and with support funding of Global Greengrants Fund (GGF), USA.
According to Dr. Mgbonu, the “local people need to be properly enlightened on ways of exploring peaceful actions” to mitigate human-environment conflicts of hydrocarbon mining in Nigeria, and so make valid contributions to global effort for mitigating climate change challenges through innovation and adaptation.
Dr. Mgbonu expressed hope that the CIF project on ‘Building Peace in the Fire’ will open the eyes of the local people to see the need for adopting holistic approaches to address salient problems in the land through wide collaboration with various stakeholders.
