NPDC Expresses Readiness to Implement Demands of Ogonis

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Ahead of the planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has expressed readiness to implement the demands of the Ogoni people. Managing Director of NPDC, Ali Zara, stated this at an event organised by the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI) in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, where the people reiterated their demands for economic and environmental justice.

He said the company was ready to follow all necessary steps to develop the ethnic nationality.

Zara noted the pains Ogoni people passed through due to the pollution of their environment by oil, saying, “What you are seeing here today is a demonstration of our existing cordial relationship with the Ogoni people.

“We truly share in your pains. First and foremost, as Nigerians and as a company, we will join you to pursue these demands. We will stand with you and will work with you to achieve the goal in shortest period of time.”

He assured that their demands would be speedily delivered to the federal government.

President of OLI, Douglas Fabeke, in his address earlier, said Ogoni ethnic nationality had given consent to NPDC to resume oil exploration and would support the company to succeed.

Fabeke declared that under no circumstance would Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) return to their land, noting that the spirit of the martyred natives would continue to haunt the oil firm. He stressed that Ogoni ethnic nationality had suffered decades of economic and social marginalisation and strangulation, adding that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) saddled with the clean-up of Ogoni environment has not done any work.

Fabeke declared, “We are happy to handover the OML 15 oilfield to NPDC. We have been socially and economically castrated for several decades”.

Fabeke thanked President Muhammadu Buhari “for providing the peaceful environment for the event to hold.” But he insisted that SPDC’s return to Ogoni land would never happen.

The OLI president said, “I want to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for providing us with a peaceful country and for us to gather here today. Under no circumstance will Shell return to Ogoni. Ogoni people are happy with the appeal court judgement that handed OML 11 to NNPC.

“We are here today for two occasions. First, is to celebrate the appeal court judgement against Shell, which has taken the OML 11 licence from Shell and given it to NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC.”