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The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has warned individuals who camouflage as stakeholders in the ongoing process for the return of oil exploration in Ogoni against jeopardising the effort.
MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, in a statement after an emergency meeting with MOSOP executives in Port Harcourt, claimed that some selfish persons without the mandate of Ogoni met with President Bola Tinubu, in Abuja, despite not playing any role in the process.
He claimed those who paraded themselves before the president as Ogoni leaders were paid chiefs from Ogoni, who do not have the interest of the Ogoni at heart.
He noted that under the Ogoni Bill of Rights, it is only MOSOP that has the mandate to make representations on behalf of the nationality, insisting that the chiefs did not speak for MOSOP.
Nsuke called for a fair and just treatment of the Ogoni people through the operationalisation of the Ogoni Development Authority (ODA), which has been presented to the government as a development blueprint to resolve the Ogoni problem.
He said: “MOSOP’s main objective is to achieve a peaceful settlement of this protracted conflict and to bring Ogoni on the path of growth and development. But, we insist on a genuine, broad-based and transparent negotiation process that considers the interest of all parties for a mutually beneficial compromise.
“The progress recorded so far in convincing the Ogoni people to embrace the idea of development through the resumption of oil production in our area had been well thought of and anchored on mutual benefits.
“It is our wish that the gains of our community sensitisation and reorientation efforts should not be destroyed by pecuniary interests of private businesses who think that 4,000 lives lost in the Ogoni struggle can be for their own benefits. God forbid.
“To this end, MOSOP calls on Mr. President to appoint a negotiator with credibility and national clout to promote a broad-based engagement with the Ogoni people and facilitate a peaceful resolution.”
MOSOP further pledged to cooperate with the process and hopes to see a speedy resolution of all issues affecting the Ogoni people.
