Tinubu orders NSA, NNPCL to engage Ogoni on oil production resumption

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately commence engagement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Ogoni leaders, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for the long-awaited resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.

The directive followed the submission of the report of the Presidential Committee on Ogoni Consultations, chaired by Professor Don Baridam, at the State House, Abuja. Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, led the Ogoni delegation to the presentation ceremony.

Tinubu assured the Ogoni people that his administration recognised their decades of suffering and sacrifices in the struggle for justice and environmental protection.

“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.

The President noted that the process would begin with addressing “non-valuable assets, which are of no benefit to the community, the country, or its people,” and pledged that the government would deploy the necessary resources to support the Ogoni people towards “shared prosperity.”

Calling for unity, Tinubu said: “I urge Ogoni people across the 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. I am encouraged by the overwhelming consensus of the Ogoni communities to welcome the resumption of oil production under an equitable tax system.”

In a gesture that underscored government recognition of past sacrifices, Tinubu also conferred posthumous national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, on four Ogoni leaders—Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Bade, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage.

This follows the June 2025 conferment of honours on Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed by the Abacha regime.

NSA Nuhu Ribadu, in his remarks, said the consultative process, guided by diplomacy and inclusiveness, had succeeded in mediating tensions and divisions.

“While not forgetting past injustices, all parties have reached a point of collective readiness to see the responsible resumption of oil production in Ogoniland anchored on fairness, equity, environmental responsibility, and direct community benefit,” he stated.

He also disclosed that stakeholders had called for a repositioning of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, “in a manner that synchronises with the dialogue process,” alongside structured community participation through equity development funds, employment, and institutional reforms.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara hailed Tinubu’s confidence-building steps, noting visible progress in projects such as the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.

“These are positive steps in the right direction and they have helped restore faith in government commitment,” the governor said.

Professor Don Baridam, chairman of the consultations committee, thanked the President for his “unwavering commitment” to the Ogoni people, stressing that Tinubu’s approach had “restored hope that had long been thwarted.”

He also lauded the posthumous recognition of the Ogoni martyrs as a mark of justice and reconciliation.