Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People says it has rejected the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and Sahara Energy as replacements for the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited in Ogoni.
President of MOSOP, Mr Fegalo Nsuke, alleged that NPDC and Sahara Energy were a conspiracy against the Ogoni people, accusing the companies of sponsoring internal conflicts in Ogoni to force their way to resume oil production in the area against the will of the people.
While acknowledging that now was the best time to resolve the Ogoni problem, Nsuke said the NPDC and Sahara Energy were out of the equation as they were totally rejected by the people.
He, however, noted that MOSOP was willing to cooperate with peaceful methods of dialogue to resolve all issues and urged the government to accept MOSOP’s position recommending the operation of an “Ogoni Development Authority”.
“Now is the best time to resolve the Ogoni problem through the operations of the Ogoni Development Authority. It is also important to note that as a people, the NPDC and Sahara who sponsor conflicts in Ogoni are not acceptable options in this process and are both rejected by MOSOP as replacements for Shell in Ogoni.”
Nsuke further said MOSOP expects the government to take advantage of the opportunity to resolve the Ogoni problem and reverse the huge revenue losses of over 29 years which according to him, currently exceeds $178billion (excluding revenues from gas sales) since Shell’s exit in 1993.
“I think it will be strange and unthinkable for the Nigerian government to reject our offer to resolve a problem that has lasted over 3 decades, has cost the government over $178Billion in oil revenue and has great potentials to boost the reputation of the government.”
Nsuke urged the Ogoni people to have faith in the efforts being made by MOSOP to resolve these very costly conflicts and assured that MOSOP is strongly committed to a peaceful resolution without the loss of lives.
He also commended the Ogoni people for sustaining the peaceful methods and urged them to resist every temptation of taking to violence, emphasizing that the non-violent option has been one of their strongest weapons, urging them to sustain those ideals by keeping away from violence and resisting every temptation to take to violence.
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