Leaders and people of Ogoniland have petitioned Bola Tinubu over alleged attempts by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to undermine the Federal Government–Ogoni dialogue process.
The petition was submitted under the platform of the Conscience of Ogoni People (COOP), formerly known as the Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, a coalition of Ogoni stakeholders advocating peace, justice and sustainable development in the area.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by COOP’s leader and spokesman, Gani Topba, the group expressed strong support for the dialogue being facilitated by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, describing it as the most credible effort yet to resolve the decades-long Ogoni crisis.
COOP alleged that the FCT Minister has been engaging in actions aimed at frustrating the dialogue, tracing the dispute to unresolved issues dating back to his tenure as Governor of Rivers State.
According to the group, the controversy is linked to a long-standing compensation dispute between the Ejama Ebubu community and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited over environmental degradation, a matter that has remained contentious in public discourse.
The group further alleged that during the recent visit of the NSA to Ogoniland, political associates of the FCT Minister were instructed to boycott and undermine the engagement at the community level.
Raising security concerns, COOP claimed that armed youths allegedly recruited from different parts of Rivers State are being mobilised and camped around the Rivers State House of Assembly quarters to destabilise the peace process.
It also alleged that Wike is displeased with Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for cooperating with the NSA to ensure the success of the Ogoni dialogue.
COOP warned that if unchecked, the alleged actions could threaten public peace and derail the fragile but promising dialogue process, which Ogoni people have widely welcomed as a pathway to environmental remediation, economic reintegration and the safe resumption of oil production in Oil Mining Lease (OML) II.
The group appealed to President Tinubu to intervene by calling on the FCT Minister to desist from actions capable of reigniting tension in Ogoniland and to mandate security agencies to investigate the allegations in the national interest.
Michael Olugbode
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