The Chairman of Global Prolife Alliance Council on World Peace, Dr. Philip Njemanze, has called on prominent Nigerians to dissuade Federal Government from establishing a nuclear plant in Akwa Ibom State as planned.

According to Njemanze, if the Federal Government should allow the Akwa Ibom nuclear power project awarded to Russia’s Rosatom in 2017 at the estimated cost of about $30 billion to scale through, Nigeria risks a nuclear disaster.

New Telegraph, however, learnt that Rosatom was the nuclear agency in charge of the failed nuclear rocket test conducted by Russian Government that killed at least five scientists earlier this month.

In a statement signed by Njemanze and made available to New Telegraph yesterday, the group said it was canvassing new electric power architecture for Nigeria with solar and hydro power.

He said: “We want to alert you on the potential danger of a ‘Nuclear Holocaust in Nigeria’ should the Russian-built Itu Nuclear Power Plant in Akwa Ibom, South-South Nigeria be allowed to go ahead.

“We, pro-life, environmental and religious groups in Nigeria, collectively oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant in Nigeria. The recent nuclear accident in Russia and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion is a reminder of the dangers of nuclear explosions.

“WHO estimates that over 600,000 people in close vicinity suffered severe radiation induced cancer and leukemia in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion.

“Experts taking clues from Chernobyl nuclear explosion experience and given the dense vegetation, vast network of rivers and intense rainfall in Southern Nigeria, put the estimate of people to be severely affected across Africa at 25 million.

“According to WHO, the ecosystem impact of the Soviet built Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in 1986 affected 200,000 square kilometers in Europe.” (New Telegraph)

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