Ahead of the planned resumption of oil exploration activities in Ogoniland in Rivers State, no fewer than 20 communities have demanded the creation of Bori State.
During the weekend, the communities made the demand at Kpor, the headquarters of the state’s Gokana local government area, during a town hall meeting organised by the Ogoni Dialogue Committee (ODC).
The committee, chaired by Professor Don Baridam, former vice chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, was created following the recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and selected Ogoni leaders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
During the meeting, Tinubu appointed the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to facilitate the oil resumption talks with the Ogoni stakeholders, just as he asked the delegation to get the input of their people and feed him back.
In their separate presentations, which were submitted to ODC, the communities also demanded the recognition of the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) and the payment of compensation to farmers whose farms were destroyed due to oil exploration in Ogoniland.
Speaking during the meeting, ODC co-chairman Archbishop Ignatius Kattey said that President Bola Tinubu recently signed into law the bill establishing the University of Environment and Technology, Ogoni, as part of the federal government’s confidence-building measures for the people of Ogoni.
Kattey lauded Tinubu, the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the initiative to gather Ogoni people, saying that the town hall meeting is a crucial part of a series of consultations with the people of the ethnic nationality.
He said, “Exactly two weeks ago, we gathered at the Peace and Freedom Centre in Bori for an Ogoni national congress. During that event, we briefed the people of Ogoni on our meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Presidential villa.
“The outcome of that meeting with the president was remarkable, particularly the government’s immediate commitment to implement some confidence-building measures. As part of the measures, the President signed into law the bill establishing the University of Environment and Technology, Ogoni.
“Today’s town hall meeting is not merely a formality; it is a crucial part of a series of consultations with the people of Ogoni.
“We want to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, the national security adviser, and the governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, for this great initiative to gather Ogoni people.”
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