President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to engage with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Ogoni communities, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for resuming oil production in Ogoniland.
This move follows the submission of the Ogoni Dialogue Committee report, which focused on structured participation, accelerated cleanup, and sustainable development.
The President emphasised the need for inclusive dialogue and reconciliation to achieve peace, justice, and development in Ogoniland. “I urge Ogoni people across communities and generations to close ranks, put this dark chapter behind us, and move forward as a united community. We have settled. This reconciliation is not an erasure of history but the commitment to write the next chapter together,” he stated.
Tinubu conferred posthumous national honours on four late Ogoni leaders, known as the Ogoni Four, who died in the struggle for environmental justice. The honour is a recognition of their sacrifices and contributions to the Ogoni people’s quest for justice and environmental protection.
The Ogoni Youth Federation’s president, Engr. Legborsi Yamaabana, lauded President Tinubu’s administration for its efforts in resolving the protracted disputes between the Federal Government, oil multinationals, and the Ogoni people. He described the eventual resumption of oil and gas exploration in Ogoniland as a landmark achievement that would place Tinubu’s administration high in Nigeria’s socio-economic history.
According to Professor Don Baridam, Chairman of the Ogoni Dialogue Committee, the committee’s report reflects the collective will of the Ogoni people and should serve as a blueprint for implementation through an inter-agency task force. The committee engaged all four Ogoni zones and the diaspora, capturing demands for structured participation in oil production, accelerated cleanup, and sustainable development.
The President assured stakeholders of the government’s determination to deploy necessary resources to address the concerns of the Ogoni people and achieve shared prosperity. “We are not, as a government, taking lightly the years of pain endured in Ogoniland. We recognise that, otherwise, we would not be here today. The Federal Government truly acknowledges the long suffering of the Ogoni people, and today, we declare with conviction that hope is here and is back with us,” he said.
Tinubu also directed the Minister of Environment to integrate pollution remediation into ongoing dialogue with the Ogoni people. The government will deploy every resource to support the Ogoni people in their march towards shared prosperity.
