Tinubu meets Fubara, Wike, Ogoni leaders at Aso Rock

President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with some leaders of Ogoni land in Rivers state at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The delegation includes Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers state; Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory; and Magnus Abe.

Others are Lee Maeba, Olaka Nwogu, Victor Giadom, Kenneth Kobani, Monsignor Pius Kii, Leedom Mitee, Bennett Birabi, Barry Mpigi, Joe Poroma, Leedom Mitee, Gabriel Piidomson.

Officials of the federal government at the meeting are Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser; Femi Gbajabiamilla, chief of staff; Idris Mohammed, minister of information and national orientation; and Abubakar Momoh, minister of regional development.

Others dignitaries at the meeting include Balarabe Abbas, minister of environment; Mele Kyari, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL); and Tosin Ajayi, director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS).

While the agenda remains unclear, the talks are believed to be connected to the federal government’s reported plans to resume oil exploration in Ogoni land.

But a source told TheCable that the meeting is on developments regarding the Ogoni oil spill.

“It’s about Ogoni clean-up. It is about an update on the ogoni spill,” the source said.

Earlier in the month, Samuel Ogbuku, managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NSCDC), expressed concern over years of stoppage of oil exploration in Ogoni land.

Ogbuku had urged leaders of the oil-rich community to work towards speedy resumption of oil operations in the area.

Oil exploration was stopped in Ogoni land in the early 1990s due to decades of environmental degradation caused by oil spills.

Some stakeholders have criticised the meeting, accusing the federal government of failing to conduct adequate consultations before its reported plans to resume oil exploration in the region.

A coalition of civil society organisations had also demanded an allocation of $1 trillion from the federal government for the clean-up of the Niger Delta and compensation before operations resume.