The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has tasked the Federal Government on implementation of its proposed Ogoni Development Authority.
Mr Fegalo Nsuke, the group President said in a statement signed by Mr Alex Akori, the MOSOP Secretary on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
He further said that the group has rejected the planned resumption of oil exploration activities in Ogoni land.
Nsuke said the proposed demand of the Ogoni development authority allows the federal government to assign an agreed percentage of oil resources for the Ogoni people to enable them take full responsibility for its development.
“We want to take responsibility for our future.
“After due consultation with Ogoni people, we were left with no option than to reject the planned oil exploration contract assigned by the federal government to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Sahara Energy.
“Although the companies are endorsed by the federal government, but it lack the potentials of executing a proper development plan for the Ogoni people.’’
Nsuke said the company recently moved toward resuming oil exploration on the oil field which has been closed for over 30 years following lingering issues of alleged environmental degradation and neglect of host communities.
“NPDC and Sahara Energy have recently conspired against the Ogoni people and have been sponsoring internal conflicts in Ogoni land with intent to forcefully resume oil exploration.
“This is against the collective will of the people,” Nsuke said.
Nsuke acknowledged that the group will support any peaceful resolve geared towards ending an over 30 years shut down of oil production in Ogoni.
A situation which he said had resulted to over $178 billion loss in the country’s oil revenue.
“We are not against federal government proposed resumption of oil exploration activities in Ogoni land.
“We are simply saying that implementation of the provisions of the Ogoni development authority will make the exercise more acceptable and also tackle conflicts usually linked to interest groups.
“If our proposal is accepted and implemented, we will guarantee smooth cooperation with operators because our goal is to see how we can permanently resolve the lingering problem in Ogoni land.
“Unfortunately, Sahara Energy and NPDC are not in the best position to help us achieve this,” he said
