Abuja: President Bola Tinubu has instructed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to engage with Ogoni communities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and other stakeholders to finalize plans for resuming oil operations in the region. This directive was issued at the Presidential Villa during the presentation of the Ogoni Consultations Committee report.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, the President emphasized the importance of dialogue and reconciliation in achieving peace and development in Ogoniland. He encouraged the Ogoni people to unify and move forward collectively. Tinubu assured that his administration would support peace initiatives, environmental cleanup, and economic revival in the area.

President Tinubu expressed optimism about the consensus among Ogoni communities to resume oil production under equitable conditions. He pledged government resources to support this initiative. The President also noted the previous administration’s decision to entrust NNPCL and its partners with the Ogoni oil fields and expressed his intention to build on this decision.

Furthermore, Tinubu directed the Minister of Environment to integrate pollution remediation into ongoing discussions with the Ogoni people. He also posthumously honored late Ogoni leaders Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, known as the “Ogoni Four,” with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

Earlier, Ribadu highlighted the consultations’ engagement with all four Ogoni zones and the diaspora, focusing on structured participation and sustainable development. In a post-event interview, Ribadu reiterated the President’s commitment to peace and growth in the Niger Delta, assuring the strict implementation of directives to consolidate peace.

Prof. Don Baridam, Chairman of the Dialogue Committee, described the report as a reflection of the Ogoni people’s collective will and called for an inter-agency task force to implement its recommendations. Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers noted improvements in regional projects, including the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that oil exploration in Ogoniland was suspended in 1993 following environmental protests, leading to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in 1995.