From Tony John, Port Harcourt
An Ogoni group, the Ogoni Oil Bearing Communities (OOBC), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu for recognition and inclusion in the management committees of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
The group urged President Tinubu to direct the Ministry of Environment and other agencies responsible for HYPREP’s activities to involve its leadership in the agency’s affairs.
This was part of the resolutions reached at the end of OOBC’s quarterly meeting for 2024, held at the palace of the Gberemene Tua Tua Tai and Paramount Ruler of Kpite community, HRM King Samuel Nne, in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The OOBC expressed the demand of the people for the involvement of oil-bearing communities in matters relating to oil and gas, as well as related benefits.
In a six-point communiqué signed by the President of the oil-bearing communities, Donald Gberesuu, the OOBC decried the plight and marginalisation of its members by certain greedy Ogoni natives and the Nigerian state, describing it as “quite unfortunate”.
The group commended Tinubu for the audience he granted its delegation and his assurances to look into OOBC’s demands.
The oil-bearing communities declared that they were “not subservient and shall not relegate our responsibilities to middlemen and interrupters who are fronting greed and [the] usurpation of common opportunities.”
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They also urged President Tinubu to accept recommendations for Ogoni representation as a way of improving the participation of affected oil-bearing communities.
Their demands included: “That we demand [a] general meeting of Ogoni people to provide [a] suitable medium to express the goodwill messages and the commitment of Mr President to the Ogonis.
“No Ogoni man or woman should think that Ogonis cannot move without him or her, neither should any act in [a] contrary [manner] to divide Ogonis into [a] crisis for personal interest.
“Those who made the list to visit Mr President are all Ogonis with repute and we cannot undermine them. I, therefore, call on the Ogonis to give peace a chance if we must move forward.”
However, the communities reiterated their insistence that only an indigenous company would be allowed to resume oil exploration in Ogoniland.
They warned that the resumption of oil exploration should not be discussed in Ogoniland without the involvement of the host communities, saying that the theme of the quarterly meeting, “Practical Involvement”, showed their resolve to participate in issues affecting oil exploration on their land.
They stated: “That issues related to oil resumption on our lands shouldn’t be discussed without [our] involvement and without consideration of our benefits.
“We shall continue to insist on eligible Ogoni indigenous company(s) as the company to resume oil production in partnership with a firm that has [the] required financial strength, capability and transparency.
“Our belief and acceptance of [an] Ogoni Oil and Gas Company is to the extent of its [being] indigenous, which provides trust for [the] transparent and equitable [sharing] of resources across Ogoni communities.
“That the Supreme Council of Ogoni, under the coordination of Chief Samuel Nneh, should come together to deliver sound leadership to the Ogoni as usual with the need to review and consider the inclusion of all paramount rulers as members for adequate representation.”
Meanwhile, Sylvester Kogbara moved a motion for the adoption of Ogoni Royal Resources and Energy Limited as the indigenous company “to mine, process, export and extract oil and gas in Ogoniland.”