The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, has listed conditions that must be met before the resumption of oil operations in Ogoniland. MOSOP made the position known during its congress which held over the weekend at the Central Field in Bera, Gokana LGA of Rivers State, wherein the President, Mr. Fegalo Nsuke noted that the Ogoni Bill of Rights mandates MOSOP to make “representations on behalf of the Ogoni people as long as injustice continues”. The injustice which led to the struggle according to Mr. Fegalo include; “absence of basic amenities – no roads, no water, no housing, no hospitals among others have continued to elude the people.
“We will not accept any option that does not consider the position of MOSOP on Ogoni oil, given the inputs it has made during the struggle that chased Shell out of Ogoni land”, Fegalo said. While maintaining its position that Ogoni Development Authority, ODA, should be “operationalised”, which means that 20 percent of the resources that comes out of Ogoni should be committed to Ogoni development, adding that the “commitment “will go into a trust fund that will be managed by a third-party asset management firm that will give report regularly to the people via online on how the money is put to use. We want Ogoni Development Authority to be operationalised, and in the interest of Ogoni in that trust, any company that is coming to drill oil in Ogoni, that “trust” must take equity in that company.”
Mr. Fegalo explained further that the third-party asset management firm “will map the entire Ogoni Land, and design development, so we know where there will be the electricity generating plant, sewage management, road networks, hospitals, schools, factories and companies that will create jobs.” The MOSOP President insisted that he will not support the entry of Geoplex or any other oil company for drilling in Ogoniland until the above conditions are met.
