President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to begin fresh engagement with Ogoni communities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and other stakeholders to finalise plans for resuming oil production in Ogoniland after more than three decades of suspension.
The president gave the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa while receiving the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee.
“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 said.
He urged Ogoni communities to unite and embrace reconciliation, stressing that dialogue remained essential for peace, justice, and development.
“I urge the Ogoni people across classes, communities and generations to close ranks, put this dark chapter behind us and move forward as a united community with a single voice,” he added.
Tinubu pledged federal support for environmental cleanup and economic revival in the Niger Delta, commending what he described as an “overwhelming consensus” among Ogoni communities to welcome oil production under equitable terms.
He also directed the Minister of Environment to incorporate pollution remediation into ongoing talks.
As part of the event, the president posthumously honoured late Ogoni leaders Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage — collectively known as the “Ogoni Four” — with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Oil exploration in Ogoniland was suspended in 1993 following protests over environmental degradation, culminating in the 1995 execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others.
