President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu to immediately open talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Ogoni leaders, and other stakeholders to pave the way for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.
The directive came Wednesday after the Presidential Committee on Ogoni Consultations, chaired by Prof. Don Baridam, submitted its report at the State House, Abuja. Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara led the Ogoni delegation to the ceremony.
Tinubu also conferred posthumous national honours on four fallen Ogoni leaders, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Bade, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage, for their sacrifices in the struggle to protect Ogoni land. In June, he had honoured Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed under the Abacha regime.
Acknowledging “years of pain endured in Ogoniland,” Tinubu urged communities to close ranks and embrace reconciliation.
“We declare with conviction that hope is here and is back with us,” the President said.
He directed the NSA and the Environment Minister to fold Ogoni concerns into broader programmes, promising federal resources to ensure equity, environmental protection, and shared prosperity.
Governor Fubara said Tinubu’s confidence-building steps had already spurred progress on the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.
NSA Ribadu noted that the painstaking consultation process had shifted Ogoniland from “tension and division” to “collective readiness” for oil production under fairness, equity, and environmental responsibility.
Committee chair Prof. Baridam praised Tinubu’s commitment, calling the process “a restoration of hope long thwarted.”
