By Daniel Abia, Port Harcourt

The efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure oil resumption in Ogoni is under threat as protests disrupted a planned congress in Bori, the traditional headquarters of the Ogoni in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.

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The planned Congress, apparently to sensitize the Ogoni people on the planned oil resumption, was organized by a group set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu to facilitate the process.

An eyewitness reported that the event was shut down by protestors carrying placards with various inscriptions some of which read: “Ledum Mitee and Ribadu, Leave Ogoni Alone”, “On Ogoni Development Authority We Stand”, “Exonerate Ken Saro-Wiwa”.

It will be recalled that a delegation of Ogoni people led by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara had recently visited President Tinubu to negotiate a possible resumption of oil production in Ogoni.

The President then mandated the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure that all Ogoni stakeholders were included in the dialogue process.

Prior to the protest on Saturday, the decision was greeted with mixed feelings as various interest groups expressed their displeasure in the way the oil resumption plan has been carried out.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) had earlier expressed displeasure over exclusion from the process. MOSOP in a statement by its president, Fegalo Nsuke, accused the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu of bias and for turning its back against MOSOP after an earlier commitment to ensure that the group’s position was considered in the dialogue process.

Nsuke said the struggle of the Ogoni people had been championed by MOSOP, noting that the Ogoni people are very conscious of the sensitive situation and will rely on the position of MOSOP on the way to go.

He expressed worries that MOSOP, being left out, could create distrust in the hearts of the Ogoni people.

MOSOP also expressed worries that “the process was being rushed in a way that could generate tension, anxiety and crises in Ogoni”.

A coalition of civil society groups known as the Ken Saro-Wiwa Exoneration Campaign, KSWEC, on Friday, called for “honesty and transparency in the process”.

The group said the approach being adopted was not acceptable to the Ogoni people and called for the exoneration of nine Ogoni activists killed along with Ken Saro-Wiwa by the Nigerian Government on November 10, 1995.

The coalition also called for a panel of investigation to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the death of four Ogoni leaders killed earlier on May 21, 1994.

Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others had been executed on the orders of General Sani Abacha after a widely condemned trial in Port Harcourt. The convicts were denied the right to appeal their sentences.

Also, Ogoni in the United States and Canada had earlier condemned the planned resumption of oil production in Ogoni and called for the exoneration of the innocent men including Ken Saro-Wiwa.

The protest on Saturday represents a major setback for President Tinubu’s determination to resolve the Ogoni issues and resume the production of oil in Ogoni.

The President had only last week approved a University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni.