John Diidi
The proposed stakeholders meeting between the Federal Government and Ogoni leaders whose aim is to discuss the planned resumption of oil and gas exploration in the area has been called off amidst security threats.
Consequently, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has enjoined President Muhammadu Buhari to stand on the side of humanity and the suffering Ogoni people and not renew the Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) in Ogoniland.
Theportcitynews.com learnt that the proposed meeting was slated for Monday, July 9, between Federal Government’s representatives led by Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and Ogoni leaders, with plans to discuss the possibility of resuming oil and gas exploration in the area.
Theportcitynews.com also gathered that some activists, including the National coordinator of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Gani Topba, had opposed the planned resumption of oil activities in Ogoni because the Federal Government and oil companies were yet to clean up Ogoniland almost seven years after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) revealed widespread devastation of the environment.
Gani Topba had also insisted that such a meeting was not necessary since the government had not deemed it appropriate to exonerate the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and others of murder charges levelled against them.
Another major source of contention was the choice of a community in Tai Local Council instead of Bori, the traditional headquarters of the Ogoni for the meeting, as raised by the head of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Family, Harry Wiwa.
Confirming the postponement of the meeting, MOSOP President, Legborsi Pyagbara, told the press that he petitioned Kachikwu last week because the process of the aborted meeting was a departure from the agreement Ogoni people and oil multinationals had with the government on May 3.
“The invitation they sent out assumed that Ogoni people agreed to the commencement of oil production in Ogoniland, which is not correct. In the letter, they claimed that we agreed that oil production should start concurrently with the cleanup of Ogoni, which is not correct,” he said.
Also, MOSOP’s Publicity Secretary, Fegalo Nsuke, stressed that Ogoni people remained opposed to the application for renewal of Oil Mining Licenses in Ogoniland.
Nsuke said Shell and its joint venture partners’ conduct in Ogoniland in the last 60 years had seriously jeopardised the safety and survival of over one million Ogoni people.
“MOSOP, therefore, urges President Buhari not to renew licenses for any company to operate the Ogoni oilfields, as the current lease would expire in 2019.
“We urge the President to stand on the side of humanity and the suffering Ogonis whose lives have been rendered miserable by Shell’s operations in Ogoniland by polluting waters and destroying the ecosystem and livelihoods,” he said.
