Following the Appeal Court judgment which handed the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11 to the Federal Government to operate, the leaders of Ogoniland have given conditions for a mutual relationship.
The leaders of Ogoniland in Rivers State hailed the Appeal Court ruling which confirmed the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) as the valid operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11.
The Ogoni people under the auspices of the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI) also pledged to cooperate with the NPDC in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources in its territory.
They made the pledge Tuesday at the Ogoni Liberation Day which was held in Bori with the NPDC managing director, Mohammed Ali-Zarah, as invited guest.
The leader, Douglas Fabeke presented a communiqué to the Federal Government containing the conditions for the relationship.
Fabeke submitted the communique on behalf of the people of Ogoni to the Federal Government as the request of Ogoni people and condition for the mutual relationship between the people and NPDC.
The communique, among other things, requested that “the issue of clean-up in Ogoniland should be re-visited and the government should mandate the handling agency to expedite actions in line with the UNEP report’s recommendation or allow the Ogoni people to bring experts that would perfectly implement the recommendations of the UNEP report to the letter”
It also called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the provisions of infrastructure to the Ogoni people.
“The Ogoni people will not work under any political manipulation that will affect the development and smooth operation in the land without capturing the interest of the people. We stand by every word drafted here and will implement it to the letter, and also ready to give the Federal Government of Nigeria maximum cooperation to achieve its aim for the success and benefit of the nation and the Ogoni people.” the communique stated.
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Fabeke said the Ogoni people welcomed with great joy the intervention of the Federal Government and the takeover of the oil assets by NPDC following the judgment of the Appeal Court in Abuja. He described the judgment that handed OML11 to NPDC as liberation for the Ogoni people, noting that the Ogonis had “looked forward to this freedom over the years”.
He further praised President Muhammadu Buhari for his administration’s commitment to the development of Ogoniland, adding that his people would support all efforts aimed at restoring the environment and exploring its huge natural resources for the benefit of all.
Managing director of NPDC, Mohammed Ali-Zarah, said the company understood the concerns and yearnings of the Ogoni people and shared in their pain.
He said NPDC and the Federal Government would work with the Ogoni people to bring development, employment and growth to the land, remediate the environment and ensure that future exploration and production activities do not impact negatively on the environment.
Ali-Zarah noted that the large turn-out of people, including traditional rulers, at the event was a huge moral boost to NPDC’s confidence in its re-entry plan.
“Indeed, this is a clear testimonial and demonstration of the strong cordial relationship that has existed between us over the years. This, for us, is our social license to operate in this peace-loving community,” the MD said.
