The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has expressed confidence in the ability of President Bola Tinubu to resolve the decades-long crisis that stalled the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni, one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil-producing areas.
According to the group, this stems from the overtures the Federal Government is making and the groundswell of support from individuals and groups from the oil-rich area.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa, TMSG noted that a resumption of oil production in Ogoniland would add a minimum of 500,000 barrels a day to the country’s daily crude output.
It reads in part: “Since 1993, when the multinational oil company Shell pulled out of Ogoni in the aftermath of the crisis over environmental issues, no single drop of oil has been extracted from any of the nearly 200 oil wells in the area.
“It is on record that different administrations since 1999 had tried to broker peace between the aggrieved members of the Ogoni community and Shell with little to show for all the efforts.
“We are aware that former President Olusegun Obasanjo made mediatory efforts led by Father Matthew Kukah which were bogged down by unmet demands for restitution while the Jonathan administration’s initiatives were largely stalled by the inability to set up a structure to receive the $1 billion recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a clean up of the affected areas.
“Former President Muhammadu Buhari continued from where his predecessor stopped until President Bola Tinubu assumed office and opted for a two-pronged approach of sustainable development and reconciliation to win the heart of the 260 communities in Ogoniland
“We recall that at the second of his two meetings with a selection of prominent leaders of the Ogoni community, the President said ‘We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We can not heal the wounds if we continue to be angry.
“The reconciliation initiative to be led by the National Security Adviser is to entail getting a buy-in of all the stakeholders on efforts by the government to ensure a conducive environment for resumption of oil exploration.
“In a demonstration of his commitment to the sustainable development of the area, President Tinubu has since approved the take-off of the Federal University of Environment and Technology, which was not only designed to give Ogoni people a sense of belonging in education but also to pave the way for the development of capacity in life-changing global academic endeavours.
“Like many Nigerians, we see it as a great step towards addressing some of the people’s long-standing grievances of neglect against the Nigerian state.
“We are also aware that the federal government also intends to involve the various communities in the Ogoni clean-up initiative just to ensure that the people have the kind of sense of belonging they had not felt in a long time.
“All these are part of several efforts to smoothen the path to the resumption of oil exploration in the oil-rich area after a 32-year pause, especially now that Shell has divested from its onshore operations.
“What we know is that with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place with provisions that clearly spelt out immediate benefits of three per cent of annual operating expenditure of oil prospecting companies to host communities, the over 260 communities of Ogoniland are bound to have a new lease of life in their relationship with oil producing companies.”
TMSG also urged Ogoni communities to be wary of conflict entrepreneurs who have been pushing back against the government’s efforts.
By Dianabasi Effiong
