Precious Anga
Lagos — Former President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Legborsi Pyagbara, has demanded the appointment of an independent facilitator to lead discussions between the Federal Government and the Ogoni people over the planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland.
Pyagbara made the demand amid growing controversy surrounding the Ogoni Dialogue Committee, which is currently engaging the Federal Government on the proposed re-entry of oil companies into the oil-producing communities.
Speaking at a news briefing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Sunday, the former MOSOP president accused the Federal Government and facilitators of the dialogue of being insincere in their handling of the process.
He warned that the manner in which the government was approaching the planned resumption of oil exploration could trigger another crisis in Ogoniland, with potentially serious consequences for the entire ethnic nationality.
Pyagbara also questioned the government’s commitment to confidence-building measures previously agreed with the Ogoni people as a condition for discussions on oil exploration to resume. He said that, apart from facilitating the take-off of the Federal University of Environment Technology in Ogoniland, no tangible progress had been made on the measures.
He further raised concerns over the sale of the Yorla oilfield and alleged secret drilling activities in some Ogoni communities, particularly in Eleme Local Government Area and Ban-Ogoi in Tai Local Government Area, despite the ongoing discussions on the proposed re-entry.
“Having harvested the demands and views of Ogoni people, we expected that at this point, an independent facilitator should be appointed to drive the process moving forward because the government is a culprit in this matter,” he stated.
Pyagbara said the proposed facilitator was necessary because of the scale and sensitivity of the Ogoni crisis, recalling the role of an international envoy during negotiations for the Ogoni clean-up.
“Also, looking at the fact that even the negotiations for the Ogoni clean-up, the United Nations appointed a special envoy to guide the process, so if the clean-up process, which is just a mini part of the process, can have such international dimension, how much more a peace process involving the whole discussion about the Ogoni crisis?
“So I’m demanding strongly that we have got to a point where an independent facilitator should be appointed to lead the Ogoni dialogue process going forward.”
The former MOSOP leader also demanded an immediate halt to oil exploration activities in Ogoniland until the dialogue is concluded, while questioning the silence of the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Ogoni Dialogue Committee over the alleged activities. He also called on the NNPC to publish details of the alleged 40 job slots allocated to Ogoni communities, including the names of beneficiaries, their communities and dates of employment.
Pyagbara further demanded funding for the dialogue process and the urgent implementation of previously agreed confidence-building measures, including the revamping of healthcare centres and completion of the Onne section of the East-West Road within defined timelines.
