By Atoyebi Nike
President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to begin formal engagements with Ogoni communities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and other stakeholders to finalise the resumption of oil operations in Ogoniland.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday while receiving the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee, Tinubu said dialogue and reconciliation remained essential to achieving lasting peace, justice, and development in the region.
“I am directing the NSA to immediately begin engagement with the Ogoni people and NNPCL, its joint venture partners, and all relevant stakeholders with a view to finalising modalities to begin operation,” Tinubu stated.
The President urged Ogoni communities to close ranks and embrace unity, pledging that his administration would support environmental cleanup, economic revival, and equitable terms for oil production.
He also posthumously honoured late Ogoni leaders Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage known as the “Ogoni Four” with the national award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Ribadu, while presenting the consultations report, assured that peace and stability were returning to Ogoniland. He promised strict implementation of the President’s directives to consolidate reconciliation and development.
Chairman of the Dialogue Committee, Prof. Don Baridam, said the report reflected the collective will of Ogoni people and called for an inter-agency task force to drive implementation.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, commended Tinubu’s confidence-building measures, citing progress on the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology as steps in the right direction.
