Adopt community engagement model for Ogoni oil resumption, youths urge FG

Youth leaders from the Niger Delta have called on the Federal Government and the Ogoni Dialogue Committee to base their strategy for resuming oil production in Ogoniland on the community engagement model used by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) along the Eastern corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline. The Niger Delta Ethnic Youth Leaders Forum believes this model, developed by PINL, offers a viable template for the ongoing dialogue process.

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There is a model that PINL has adopted and implemented in the Niger Delta, and that model is working. It is a model of constructive engagement, of inclusion, of carrying the host community along.

Legborsi Yamaabana, President-General of the Ogoni Youths Federation and spokesman for the group, stated that Ogoni youths are not opposed to the resumption of oil activities. Speaking at a stakeholders' meeting convened by PINL in Port Harcourt, Yamaabana stressed that the youths of Ogoniland must be fully integrated into the process. He criticized the current dialogue with the federal government for excluding them.

The Ogoni oil fields have been inactive for 33 years, since 1993, due to disagreements between the local population and Shell. Yamaabana pointed to PINL's "constructive engagement, inclusion, and carrying the host community along" as a successful approach. He suggested that if the current leaders driving the Ogoni re-entry process lack ideas, they should consult PINL for their proven model.

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In all of this dialogue, the youths of Ogoniland have been excluded. If those driving the Ogoni re-entry lack ideas, they should go and meet PINL for the model they are using to succeed.

Earlier, Akpos Mezeh, General Manager of Community and Stakeholder Relations at PINL, informed the meeting that operations across the TNP and Eastern Gas Network have been largely uninterrupted due to collaboration with security agencies, contractors, and host communities. He noted that even the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, intended to transport gas to Morocco, relies on similar conditions of security and community cooperation. Traditional rulers present at the meeting commended PINL's engagement model for transforming oil and gas operations in the region and urged its continuation.

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World-class energy infrastructure can only thrive where pipelines are secure, communities are peaceful, and stakeholders work together.