DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Energy & Infrastructure

MOSOP Demands Transparency in Ogoni Oil Talks and NNPCL Job Allocations

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People accused the Ogoni Dialogue Committee of secrecy and demanded greater transparency in discussions on renewed oil exploration.
  • MOSOP called for an investigation into alleged oil production in parts of Ogoni without community consent or a social licence.
  • The group also demanded publication of the authentic NNPCL-approved list of job beneficiaries and objected to the alleged inclusion of non-indigenes.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People has demanded transparency from the facilitators of the Ogoni Dialogue Committee as discussions continue over a possible return of oil exploration in the area.

To us, the ODC facilitators’ response disclosed nothing tangible. Rather, it betrayed a concerning attempt to hide the truth.

— Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni PeopleMOSOP criticised the committee’s response to concerns about secrecy and accountability.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, MOSOP said openness would help restore stakeholder confidence and encourage wider participation in the dialogue. Instead, it said, a recent response from the committee had deepened suspicions among Ogoni people.

The group was responding to a statement by facilitators led by Ben Nanen, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt. MOSOP said the committee had failed to address concerns about secrecy, accountability and the handling of job opportunities connected to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Our expectation was that the committee leaders would offer convincing clarifications that would put to rest the doubts. Instead, they opted for a submission that increased our doubts.

— Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni PeopleThe group said the committee had failed to reassure Ogoni stakeholders.

MOSOP demanded that the authentic NNPCL-approved list of beneficiaries be made public. It said the failure to publish the names had fuelled suspicion and criticised the alleged inclusion of non-indigenes while qualified Ogoni graduates remained unemployed.

If the ODC leaders differ, we urge them to resolve the doubt by publishing the authentic NNPCL-approved list in their possession.

— Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni PeopleMOSOP demanded publication of the job-beneficiary list.

The organisation also called for a probe into alleged oil production activities in parts of Ogoni that it said were taking place without the consent or social licence of local communities. MOSOP faulted the committee for allegedly limiting its investigation to operations in Alesa-Eleme and said the issue required a broader response.

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.

— Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni PeopleThe organisation objected to the alleged inclusion of non-indigenes in the job allocation.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog