PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, held a closed-door meeting with a delegation of Ogoni leaders led by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
Also present at the meeting was the Chief of staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and other ministers and aides.
The meeting came after a coalition of civil society organisations demanded an allocation of $1 trillion from the Federal Government for the cleanup of the Niger Delta and compensation for lost livelihoods, before the resumption of crude oil production in Ogoniland.
The meeting came amid the protracted feud between Fubara and Wike who were once political allies. Wike was the immediate-past governor of the oil-rich South-South state.
Although the agenda of the meeting has not been disclosed, it is believed to be connected to the Ogoni clean-up project and the potential resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland, Rivers State.
The Federal Government has previously raised concerns about the long suspension of oil exploration in Rivers State.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, has also expressed worry over the conflicts that halted oil exploration and exploitation by international oil companies in Ogoniland.
Ogbuku noted that the ongoing standoff, coupled with a growing energy crisis following the removal of oil subsidies by the Federal Government, has deprived the nation of significant contributions to its Gross Domestic Product over the years.
Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society organisations has demanded $1 trillion from the Federal Government for the clean-up of the Niger Delta and compensation for the loss of livelihoods before crude oil production can resume in Ogoniland.
The demands were outlined in a statement by organisations including Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, expressing concerns over the government’s reported plans to restart oil production in the community.
The group criticised the move, describing it as a disregard for environmental justice.
The statement also referenced the 2011 UNEP report, which documented extensive environmental degradation in Ogoniland caused by oil activities, including widespread pollution of land, water, and air.
