Leaders and people of Ogoniland have petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to rein in the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, over alleged attempts to sabotage the ongoing dialogue aimed at resolving the decades-long Ogoni crisis.

This petition was made under the auspices of the Conscience of Ogoni People (COOP, formerly known as Ken Saro Wiwa Associates), a collective of concerned Ogoni sons and daughters committed to peace, justice, and long-term stability in Ogoniland and the Nigerian state.

The group expressed strong support for the ongoing Federal Government-Ogoni dialogue and peace process currently being facilitated by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its Leader and Spokesman, Chief Gani Topba, COOP accused Wike of engaging in calculated moves to frustrate this dialogue process, an action the group traced back to his tenure as Governor of Rivers State.

According to the statement, the roots of the alleged sabotage lie in a long-standing compensation dispute involving the Ejama Ebubu community in Ogoni and the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), arising from environmental devastation claims successfully litigated and won by the community.

COOP noted that during Wike’s tenure as governor, the Rivers State Government became deeply involved in the matter, which has remained controversial and unresolved in the court of public opinion.

The group further cited alarming developments during Ribadu’s recent visit to Ogoniland, during which the political associates of Wike were allegedly directed to boycott and undermine the visit. COOP claimed that deliberate efforts were made to sabotage the dialogue process at the community level.

“More troubling are reports of the recruitment of armed thugs from across Rivers State, who are said to be currently camped within the precincts of the Rivers State House of Assembly quarters,” the statement alleged.

COOP further disclosed that the FCT Minister is unhappy with the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalaiyi Fubara, for cooperating with the NSA to ensure the success of the Ogoni dialogue and peace process.

“Our information is that after the NSA left Rivers State, the Minister directed the Chairmen of the Local Government Areas (LGAS) in Ogoniland (namely: Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana) to recruit armed youths who would be used to cause security breaches and frustrate the completion of the ongoing dialogue and eventual resumption of oil operations in Ogoniland,” the statement reads.

“From available reports, key individuals opposed to the Minister’s directive to scuttle the oil resumption effort of the Federal Government may be allegedly earmarked for elimination in each of the Ogoni LGAs,” the statement added.

To this end, the group warned that if left unchecked, these actions allegedly engineered by Wike pose a serious threat to public peace and security in Rivers State, risk igniting widespread violence, and could completely derail the fragile but promising Ogoni dialogue process.

They noted that current dialogue process is worth salvaging because it “has been widely welcomed by the generality of Ogoni people as the most sincere, inclusive, and structured effort ever, which seeks to achieve: lasting peace in Ogoni, environmental remediation and restoration, economic reintegration of Ogoni into the national and gas economy, and the safe and legitimate resumption of oil production in OML II, which would significantly boost national revenue, foreign exchange earnings, energy security, and employment”.

Against this backdrop, COOP appealed to President Tinubu to call on the FCT Minister to desist from further fomenting trouble in Ogoniland, stressing that “Ogoni people are tired of conflict, manipulation, and being used as pawns in political and economic struggles”. For the first time in many years, the group noted, there is genuine hope that justice, peace, and development may finally come to our land.

The group further urged the President to protect and sustain the ongoing dialogue process and to mandate relevant security and intelligence agencies to investigate the allegations and prevent any actions capable of destabilising Rivers State.

“We also appeal to the President to ensure that no individual, regardless of status, is allowed to undermine national interest for personal or sectional gain, and to continue to support a transparent, inclusive, and lawful pathway to the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, for the benefit of all Nigerians,” the statement concluded.

COOP expressed confidence that President Tinubu’s intervention at this critical moment would not only safeguard peace in Ogoniland but also reaffirm the authority of the Nigerian state and the President’s commitment to justice, national unity, and economic recovery.

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