Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Conscience of Ogoni People, COOP, has petitioned President Bola Tinubu, rejecting Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd as the operator of Ogoni oilfields in Petroleum Mining Lease 11, formerly known as OML11.
The group requested President Tinubu’s intervention on legacy issues surrounding the Ogoni oilfields before resuming oil operations in Ogoniland, citing unresolved issues including the judicial exoneration of Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni eight, environmental restoration, and community inclusion.
In a letter to the President, Leader of COOP, Chief Gani Topba, urged Tinubu to direct NNPC Ltd and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to discontinue dealings with Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd pending resolution of outstanding issues.
Topba in the letter titled, “Path to Genuine Reconciliation and Sustainable Peace in Ogoniland” also alleged a bribery scandal allegedly involving Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd, NNPCL, and a former governor of Rivers State, tasking the President to investigate the allegations and unravel the circumstances surrounding it.
The letter emphasized the need for environmental restoration, decommissioning of disused oil facilities by Shell, and community inclusion, expressing optimism that the President’s intervention will pave the way for genuine reconciliation and sustainable peace in Ogoniland.
The letter reads in part, “Your Excellency, we wish to bring to your attention a clandestine plan by NNPC Ltd in connivance with certain highly placed persons within the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to grant the lease and/or operatorship of Petroleum Mining Lease11 (formerly OML 11 – the Ogoni Fields) to Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Sahara Group Limited, without any form of consultation with the Ogoni people.
“This action of the NNPCL and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources violates the Ogoni people’s right to prior, free, and informed consent and inclusion in discussions over issues that affect not only their environment but also their livelihood support systems, as contained in Article 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Your Excellency, NNPCL has a history of unilaterally granting approvals or operatorship to oil companies to commence oil operations in Ogoniland without obtaining the social licence of the Ogoni people through robust dialogue and all-inclusive and transparent engagement of the people.
“Secondly, there is an allegation hanging on the head of the NNPCL and the NPDC over a $300 Million bribe paid to the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in early 2023, to secure the consent of Ogoni representatives in government to enable Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd to acquire the Ogoni oil blocks through the back door.
“This allegation was made openly in all media spaces by the incumbent Member representing Asari Toru/Akuku-Toru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives sometime in December 2023. It is also alleged that the bribe money was provided by Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd to the NNPCL to assist it in buying over Ogoni representatives in government, in the mistaken belief that the company would have a smooth ride into Ogoniland.
“Quite surprisingly, neither the NNPCL nor the Minister made any attempt, however feeble, to deny the allegations of financial impropriety made against them by the said legislator. Hence we as Ogoni people have resolved to reject Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd and whatever it represents from entering Ogoniland. We are going to massively mobilize Ogoni people to protest against the granting of the PML 11 to a company that has not cleared its name from the bribery scandal hanging over them.”
The group in the letter also urged President Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to cooperate with the Ogoni people in ensuring that there is a judicial exoneration of the Ogoni Nine and a reversal of the verdict of the Ibrahim Auta-led kangaroo tribunal.
“We appeal to Your Excellency to use your good offices to direct the NNPCL, NPDC, and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to discontinue forthwith all dealings with Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd in relation to PPL 11 (Ogoni Fields) pending the resolution of some of the issues surrounding the resumption of oil operations in Ogoniland.
“We also appeal that Your Excellency directs the relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate the $300 Million bribery allegations to unravel the circumstances surrounding the offering and taking of the alleged bribe money.
“Finally, we appeal to Your Excellency to direct the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC to prevail on the SPDC to swiftly decommission all disused oil facilities in Ogoniland in order to prevent further environmental degradation of the land, since these abandoned facilities are responsible for large-scale oil spillages and blow-outs in various Ogoni communities.
“Your Excellency, we call on you to hold Sahara Energy International Pte Ltd accountable for any breakdown of law and order that ensues from this latest attempt to foist insecurity and bloodbath on the host communities of PPL 11 (Ogoni Fields) as we peacefully assert their rights under Nigerian law.”