Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People has fired a fresh salvo at the facilitators of the Ogoni Dialogue Committee, accusing them of operating in secrecy and demanding the immediate publication of the list of 40 Ogoni youths reportedly employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, MOSOP Secretary-General Stephen Nmane said the committee's recent response to concerns raised by stakeholders had failed to provide convincing explanations, heightening suspicions over the management of the oil resumption process.
The organisation's demands come at a critical juncture in the decades-long struggle over oil exploitation in Ogoniland, where more than 2,000 people lost their lives and a generation of leadership was wiped out during the fight for environmental justice and self-determination. MOSOP insisted that openness by the dialogue committee would elicit the confidence of all stakeholders and encourage them to further embrace the dialogue process. However, the group said the committee's response had instead deepened suspicion among the Ogoni people. "To us, the ODC facilitators' response disclosed nothing tangible. Rather, it betrayed a concerning attempt to hide the truth," MOSOP said.
At the heart of the controversy is the handling of 40 employment slots reportedly provided by the Federal Government through NNPCL as part of a confidence-building arrangement. MOSOP demanded the publication of the approved list of beneficiaries, alleging that key members of the ODC had disclosed that a majority of those on the list were nominees of prominent committee leaders and their loyalists. The group also criticised the alleged inclusion of non-indigenes in the employment slots, describing the decision as insensitive to the unemployment crisis confronting qualified Ogoni graduates. "Whilst our qualified graduates throng offices for jobs, our leaders inhumanly consider non-indigenes over the natives in a matter that is exclusive to Ogoni," MOSOP said.
The organisation further rejected the explanation that the employment slots were drawn from a national merit pool to ensure quality, arguing that such an arrangement would undermine the special consideration ordinarily given to host or operational communities in the oil industry. MOSOP challenged the committee to publish the authentic NNPCL-approved list in its possession if it disagreed with the allegation. "The people have been unsatisfied with the handling of the offer; hence, the overwhelming insistence that the list of beneficiaries be published," the statement read.
Beyond the job controversy, MOSOP raised alarm over alleged ongoing oil production activities in parts of Ogoni, particularly in Ban-Ogoi and Alesa-Eleme, claiming that the activities were taking place without the consent or social licence of the Ogoni community. The group described the development as a "forced re-entry through the back door" and demanded an immediate halt to the operations. "It is appalling as it is disappointing that while dialogue between Abuja and Ogoni is ongoing, preliminary oil production is operationalised in parts of Ogoni by the Federal Government without the consent and social licence of the Ogoni community," MOSOP said.
The group particularly faulted the ODC for allegedly limiting its investigation to the Alesa-Eleme operation while failing to address the reported activities in Ban-Ogoi. MOSOP questioned why oil drilling operations were allegedly continuing in Ogoni when, according to the group, no agreement had been reached on the resumption of oil production. "Whether directly linked to the dialogue process or not, oil is fundamental to the Ogoni struggle for justice," the group said.
On contracts for confidence-building projects, MOSOP said its concern was not about the mandate or distribution of contracts, but about the identities of contractors, project scopes and whether the projects were being properly executed. The group questioned how monitoring committees set up by the ODC could effectively assess the quality and progress of projects if information about the contractors and project specifications was not made public. MOSOP demanded disclosure of project details, including contractors, scope of work, specifications and milestones.
The organisation also rejected suggestions that those questioning the process were attempting to truncate the dialogue. MOSOP maintained that it was not opposed to the resumption of oil production in Ogoni, provided the process was transparent, broad-based and capable of protecting the interests of the people. "The people are deeply concerned. The continued failure to embrace transparency could further erode confidence in the dialogue process," MOSOP warned.
The Ogoni Dialogue Committee, led by former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Don Baridam, has denied any role in the selection of the 40 beneficiaries. Baridam explained that the employment opportunities were part of a confidence-building measure proposed by the Ogoni delegation to the Federal Government, adding that NNPCL selected the successful candidates from a pool of qualified Ogoni applicants already in its recruitment database, rather than from nominations made by the committee. "When the issue of employment was raised, the NNPCL made it clear that it would not compromise its established professional recruitment standard," Baridam said. He also dismissed allegations that the committee had received any budget, grant or other financial support from the Federal Government or that it had awarded any contracts.
The allegations of secrecy and corruption have also drawn attention to the broader challenges facing the Ogoni oil resumption process. Ogoni youths have demanded 500 job slots from NNPCL, rejecting the 40 positions reportedly allocated as insufficient. The youths have threatened to formally demand a minimum of 500 direct employment opportunities within NNPCL and its subsidiaries for qualified Ogoni youths. The demands by Ogoni youths for increased job slots and squabbles among some critical stakeholders in the area are currently threatening the resumption of oil exploration.
MOSOP has also warned the Federal Government and investors interested in investing in Ogoni to be wary of "predators" and to exercise due diligence before entering any agreements. "We would further counsel against hasty agreement with anyone or group without appropriate due diligence, as such will not be binding on us," the group said. The organisation also called on the people to remain calm and law-abiding while efforts were made to address the issues.
For the Ogoni people, who have endured decades of environmental degradation, economic marginalisation and the loss of countless lives in the struggle for justice, the stakes of the oil resumption dialogue could not be higher. The demand for transparency is not merely a procedural request but a fundamental condition for rebuilding trust between the community, the government and the oil industry. As MOSOP has made clear, the Ogoni people are not opposed to the resumption of oil production. But they are determined that this time, the process must be different—open, accountable, and genuinely inclusive. Whether the ODC and NNPCL can meet that test remains to be seen.
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