The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Limited (NPDC) and its partners have expressed a renewed desire to collaborate in order to restart oil production in abandoned wells for the benefit of the community and the country.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, or NNPC, owns NPDC.
According to a statement signed on Tuesday by Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager (Public Affairs), NNPC, the Managing Director of NPDC, Mohammed AliZarah, spoke at an event organized by the Ogoni Liberation Initiative.
He stated that the company was aware of the Ogoni people’s concerns and aspirations, and that it shared their pain.
According to him, the NPDC and the Federal Government would work with the communities to ensure that their environment was restored and that the activities did not harm their environment but instead provided them with development, employment, and growth.
He said the Ogoni Liberation Initiative’s organization of the event, as well as the attendance of traditional rulers, youths, and women, had boosted the company’s confidence.
He described it as a “love and solidarity act.”
“Indeed, this is a clear testament and demonstration of our long-standing cordial relationship.
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“For us, this is our social license to operate in this peaceful community,” he explained.
AliZarah stated that it was in the country’s best collective national interest to quickly restore Ogoniland’s environment and create the necessary conditions for the communities’ social and economic development.
“As a viable partner, we would join you in working for the betterment of our people and the country.
He said, “We stand with you and would work with you to achieve this in the shortest time possible.”
On the communique submitted by the Ogoni Liberation Initiative, AliZarah assured them that he would send the document to the NNPC management for transmission to the appropriate quarters, including the President.
Earlier, Rev. Douglas Fabeke, the Convener and Leader of the Ogoni Liberation Initiative, the event’s organizers, said the Ogoni people were overjoyed by the Federal Government’s intervention and the NPDC’s takeover of the oil exploration sites following the Abuja Appeal Court’s decision.
He described the Ogoni people’s liberation as a result of the judgment and subsequent takeover of the sites by NPDC.
Over the years, the people of Ogoni, he claims, have looked forward to freedom.
He assured the FG that the people of Ogoni would back all efforts to restore and explore the region’s vast natural resources for the benefit of the people.
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“The people of Ogoni are ready for an oil and gas business deal in the land to entrench development in partnership with the NNPC/Federal Government of Nigeria through a transformed template and practical community development delivered by the host communities,” he said.
“The Ogoni people are willing to engage in all types of business with the State, Federal, and Global Corporate Communities for the development of their land, as long as the business is anchored on Ogoni development,” he said.
He urged Ogoni leaders to put aside their animosity and collaborate with the FG to ensure that the people benefited from their resources.
At the request of the Ogoni people and as a condition for the people’s mutual relationship with the NPDC, he submitted a communique to the FG on their behalf.
The communique requested, among other things, that the issue of Ogoniland clean-up be revisited, and that the government mandate the handling agency to expedite actions and clean the land in accordance with the UNEP Report’s recommendations.
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It also asked that the Ogoni people be allowed to bring in investors who would follow the UNEP report’s recommendations to the letter.
It also urged the federal government to move quickly on infrastructure projects for the Ogoni people.
“The Ogoni people will not work under any political manipulation that will jeopardize the Land’s development and smooth operation without capturing the public’s interest.
“We stand by every word drafted here and will carry it out to the letter,” the communique said. “We are also ready to give the Federal Government of Nigeria our full cooperation in achieving its goal for the success and benefit of the Nation and the Ogoni people,” it added.
It should be remembered that oil production in Ogoniland was halted in the early 1990s due to disruptions caused by local public unrest.
Since then, the oilfields and other installations have largely remained idle.
Hope was rekindled, however, after an Appeal Court decision allowing NPDC to take over Shell’s oil production in Ogoni land.
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The Federal High Court in Abuja, which had held that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was entitled to the renewal of the Lease on OML 11, was overturned by the Appeal Court in Abuja on August 23, 2019.
The Appellate Court ruled that it was up to the Minister of Petroleum Resources to decide whether or not to renew the OML 11 Lease in SPDC’s favor.
The court also found that the minister exercised his discretion correctly in awarding the OML 11 Lease to NPDC, a NNPC subsidiary.
