The National Congress of Ogoni People has tied the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni to the ethnic group’s demand for an “Ogoni-born Rivers governor.”
The group, an umbrella body of the different factions of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), said at the end of a meeting in Bori, Khana Local Government Area on Saturday that oil production in Ogoni will not resume until the governorship of Rivers State is ceded to the Ogoni people.
Legborsi Pyagbara, former MOSOP President, reading a communique signed by Andah Wai Ogosu, Prince Bira, and other factional presidents, said the Federal Government must urgently address what they described as the political marginalization of Ogonis.
The congress acknowledged ongoing dialogue between the Federal Government and Ogoni stakeholders over plans to resume oil production in the area. They, however, expressed concern that discussions so far have focused primarily on oil resumption while neglecting the fundamental issues that gave rise to the Ogoni struggle.
Pyagbara said, while reading the communique, that the congress appreciates the Federal Government’s efforts at engagement but insists that any meaningful conversation on oil resumption must address the broader concerns of the Ogoni people.
