Planned Resumption Of Oil Exploration In Ogoni: Intrigues, Anxiety Take Centre Stage
…Supreme Council Of Ogoni Traditional Rulers Doublespeaking?
…Says Prince Biira Is MOSOP President
…As Ogoni Elders, Gbo Kabaari, KAGOTE Take Position
There are high-wire intrigues by some persons in Ogoni to outsmart one another, ahead of planned oil exploration resumption in Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria.
The intrigues aside, some parties involved are said to be guarding their fortress, a development that seems not to go down well with the Ogoni Elders (Gbo Kabari) and the Kagote.
A Federal High Court, Abuja had on August 23, 2019 held that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was entitled to the renewal of the lease on OML 11, however the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) thereafter went to an appeal to challenge the ruling.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) after an Appeal Court Judgement affirmed its operatorship of the Oil Mining Lease 11 (OML 11), announced plan to resume crude oil production in Ogoni region 30 years after the legal tussle with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over the entitlement to a renewal of the lease on OML 11.
But the Appellate Court held that the Minister of Petroleum Resources had the discretion whether or not to renew the OML 11 lease in favour of SPDC.
The court further held that the Minister rightly exercised his discretion in awarding the OML 11 lease to NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC.
The NNPC Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, who was quoted in a statement to have cautioned against further legal challenge by the SPDC, stressed that it was about time Nigeria derived benefits of the OML 11 after over three decades.
Shortly after, the Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni wrote a letter dated 10/11/2020 and addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Ogoni Liberation Initiative, Rev (Dr.) Febeke Douglas titled: Authority of Support.
More worrisome are two different portions emanating from the Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni.
The Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni in a letter dated November 10, 2020 gave authority to the Chief Executive Officer of Ogoni Liberation Initiative, Rev (Dr) Fabeke Douglas to mediate on behalf of the Ogoni people, including resumption of oil exploration on OML 11 of Ogoni.
The letter which is hereby published unedited contradicted the recent position of same Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni which in a press statement dated 28th August 2021, distanced itself from the same Ogoni Liberation Initiative, they had already given an authority.
The press statement of the Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni is also hereby published unedited.
Questions begging for answers are “who is deceiving whom and is the Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers of Ogoni speaking from both sides of the mouth?
See the letter below:
