The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has warned that any backdoor joint venture partnership between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Sahara Energy will be resisted by the local community.
The group also stated that any attempt to impose the oil firm could lead to major upheaval, undermining current efforts to achieve a mutually beneficial settlement of long standing conflicts.
MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, made this position known during a meeting with the Council of Ogoni Leaders of Thought in Bori, cautioning against any manoeuvres that might provoke a crisis in the communities.
While reiterating the group’s commitment to peace and development in Ogoni and Nigeria at large, Nsuke advised the Federal Government to avoid actions that could disrupt ongoing reconciliation efforts and revert the region to a repressive era.
“We have laid down our conditions for a peaceful resolution of the Ogoni issue. The government should consider these demands, and we are ready to make necessary compromises on mutually beneficial terms,” he added.
He declared, “The people have maintained that the deal between Sahara and NNPC is unacceptable to us, and we will strongly resist any attempt by NNPC to force Sahara Energy on us by any means whatsoever.”
“We are calling on the government to immediately halt Sahara Energy’s moves to enter into a joint venture agreement with the NNPC over OML 11 without considering the position of MOSOP and the people.”
Nsuke called on the government to immediately halt Sahara Energy’s efforts to form a joint venture with NNPC over OML 11 without consulting MOSOP and the local people.
He said, “Our position is critical in discussions on oil production in Ogoni because we stopped Shell’s operations in the first place. We made enormous sacrifices to get Shell out of the fields. If the NNPC attempts to force an oil firm on us without considering our demands, we will resist.
“We urge the Nigerian government to give peace a chance and engage in discussions on the recommendations we have made in the interest of peace in our land. We do not want anything to disrupt our peace, and the NNPC should avoid causing further trouble.
“We have proposed a pathway to address the Ogoni problem, and that option should be given a chance. Our proposal calls for the operationalization of the Ogoni Development Authority (ODA).”(Guardian)
