NIGERIA: Tinubu Directs NSA, NNPCL To Engage Ogoni Stakeholders, Honours Ogoni Four Posthumously

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately commence engagements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Ogoni people, and other relevant stakeholders to finalise modalities for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.

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

In a move described as historic, the President also conferred the posthumous national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on four late Ogoni leaders, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Bade, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage, for their sacrifices in the struggle for environmental protection.

This comes after his earlier June recognition of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed by the Abacha regime.

“We are not, as a government, taking lightly the years of pain endured in Ogoniland. 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,” President Tinubu said, urging the Ogoni people to close ranks and embrace reconciliation.

The President emphasised that the reconciliation process “is not an erasure of history but a commitment to write the next chapter together,” adding that his administration will deploy necessary resources to safeguard the environment while ensuring shared prosperity for the Ogoni people.

Governor Fubara, in his remarks, commended the President’s confidence-building measures, which he said had already led to significant improvements, including progress on the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.

NSA Nuhu Ribadu noted that the President had earlier approved key steps to build trust among stakeholders, including the constitution of the university’s governing council and accelerated work on infrastructure.

He described the consultation process as “intensive, methodical, and transparent,” stressing that it paved the way for stakeholders to collectively agree on a framework for responsible oil production anchored on fairness, equity, and environmental responsibility.

Committee Chairman, Professor Don Baridam, thanked the President for his foresight and commitment, noting that the government’s efforts had restored hope in a community long burdened by environmental degradation and injustice.

With this development, the Federal Government is expected to begin the final phase of consultations that would pave the way for oil production to resume in Ogoniland after decades of suspension.