TINUBU CONFERS NATIONAL HONOURS ON OGONI FOUR, BACKS OIL RESUMPTION
President Bola Tinubu posthumously conferred the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on four late Ogoni leaders, collectively known as the “Ogoni Four.” The recipients are Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage.
The President announced the honours while receiving a report from the Ogoni Consultations Committee at the State House in Abuja. He urged the Ogoni people to embrace reconciliation and unity, encouraging them to put the “dark chapter” behind them and “move forward as a united community with one voice.”
Tinubu also stated his administration would support the region’s economic and environmental recovery, including the resumption of oil exploration. He noted his encouragement from the “overwhelming consensus” of Ogoni communities to welcome the return of oil production, stating, “The government will deploy every resource to support your people in this march towards shared prosperity.”
Building on the previous administration’s 2022 decision to hand over the operatorship of the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Tinubu directed National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to immediately begin engaging with the Ogoni people, NNPCL, and other stakeholders to finalize the restart of operations.
“A dead asset is not valuable to the community, the country or the people. The longer we procrastinate, the worse it is for everyone,” the President said. He also directed the Minister of Environment to integrate pollution remediation and environmental recovery into the dialogue with the Ogoni people.
Earlier, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who led the consultation committee, stated that the exercise engaged all four Ogoni zones, including input from local communities, traditional leaders, and the diaspora.
