The Ogoni Dialogue Committee said Monday it will not sign a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government on resuming oil exploration in Ogoniland until what it called credible and authentic congresses are held across the four Ogoni local government areas, a condition that places community consent ahead of a deal Abuja has pursued for nearly two years.
The committee, known as the ODC, said the congresses are needed so that any agreement reflects the collective interests of the Ogoni people and carries legitimacy and acceptance in the communities. Its resolutions, it said, rest on unity, transparency, broad consultation and confidence-building projects.
The statement arrived with a mixed message. According to the committee’s account relayed by Monsignor Pius Kii, Judicial Vicar of the Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt, members resolved to support the Federal Government’s effort to resume oil exploration for the benefit of Nigeria and the Ogoni people, and to complete harmonizing the draft MOU in line with resolutions from their previous meeting. Kii said the chairmen of the four Ogoni local government councils, who were mandated to brief and sensitize their communities ahead of the congresses, have reported significant progress. Professor Ndowa Lale, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt and an ODC member, said the meeting produced resolutions that will guide the committee’s next steps. ATN could not establish from the material reviewed which of the committee’s members spoke for the position on the MOU itself, or when the congresses will take place. No dates were announced.
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The Federal Government has not responded to the committee’s condition in the reports ATN has reviewed. The Office of the National Security Adviser coordinates the dialogue. The government inaugurated the ODC in January 2025, and the committee is chaired by Professor Don Baridam, according to earlier reporting. Oil exploration in Ogoniland has been halted for more than three decades, and the Office of the National Security Adviser began moves to resume it in late 2024.
In August 2025, an ONSA delegation led by Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, the Director of Energy Security, visited Ogoniland with officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, its joint venture partners and the Rivers State Government. Flag-Amachree said then that he was very hopeful oil activities would resume soon. Resumption was tied to confidence-building measures the Ogoni side had requested: completion of the East-West Road, a law establishing the Federal University of Environment Technology, rehabilitation of some hospitals, and jobs for Ogoni youths at NNPC Limited.
Ogoni groups are divided on both the destination and the route.
The Green Ogoni Initiative rejected resumption, arguing that the process does not adequately address the rights and interests of the Ogoni people, including environmental protection and community consent. KAGOTE, the apex socio-cultural organization of the Ogoni, has focused instead on process. It has called for transparency over community representation, jobs and contract awards, and over what it described as oil-related activity reported while negotiations continue. Its president, Chief Lesi Maol, said earlier that the conduct of some individuals needed clarification to preserve the dialogue’s credibility. Kii warned in the same period that Ogoni could face a fait accompli without open negotiation, while saying he is not opposed to resumption itself. Rear Admiral John Nicholas Bakpo (retired), a KAGOTE vice president who also sits on the ODC, said the committee has no budget or logistics.
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The Ogoni Peoples’ Assembly has asked that the draft MOU be published and reviewed by the communities before anyone signs, arguing that its commercial, environmental and ownership terms must be made clear.
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People took a different tack. Its national congress, held on June 27 at the movement’s secretariat in Bori, welcomed the talks and said it was time to pursue ways to end the 33-year conflict with the oil industry, while asking the Federal Government to implement any agreement transparently. MOSOP president Fegalo Nsuke and secretary-general Alex Akori signed the communique.
On November 2, the Coalition of Ogoni Youth Groups, in a statement signed by 17 leaders, pressed Abuja to stop delaying implementation of the dialogue outcomes. It asked for a written interim MOU setting responsibilities, timelines and funding, and it called for the creation of Bori State to be written into the implementation roadmap. The coalition disputed reports that Senator Olaka Wogu has been recognized as the ODC’s leader, saying he sits on its harmonization subcommittee and that Baridam leads the central committee. It also asked for verifiable information on a reported $300 million fund. ATN has not been able to verify the fund or its source.
Whether the Federal Government accepts the congress condition is not stated in any of the reports reviewed. The ODC’s stated condition applies to all four Ogoni local government areas.
