Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately commence engagements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Rivers State’s Ogoni communities, and other stakeholders for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.

President Tinubu issued the directive on Wednesday, while receiving the report of the Presidential Committee on the Ogoni Consultations, chaired by former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Don Baridam, at the State House, Abuja.

The delegation was led by the reinstated Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara.

Recall that oil exploration in Ogoniland has been halted in 1993 following widespread protests by the indigenes against environmental degradation.

The incident led to the execution of a writer/activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight others known as the Ogoni Nine in 1995 by the then-military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha.

President Tinubu praised the committee for what he described as “dedication and wisdom” in guiding a delicate process, and urged the Ogoni to embrace reconciliation and dialogue as the only path to justice and development.

In what is generally perceived as a measure to sooth frayed nerves in Ogoniland, President Tinubu conferred posthumous national honours of Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) on four Ogoni leaders who died earlier in the struggle for environmental justice. They were called ‘Ogoni Four.’

A member of the delegation Sen. Magnus Abe described the CON award to the Ogoni Four as sealing the peace process because the Ogoni Nine including the late environmental activist Ken Sarowiwa, ordered killed by a former head of state, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, had earlier been honoured by President Tinubu.

The President commended the committee members for “the wisdom with which they guided’’ the process.

President Tinubu also thanked Ogoni people for embracing dialogue and reconciliation as the surest path to justice and development.”

In acknowledgment of the decades of struggle, he noted, that “We are not as a government taking lightly the years of pain endured in Ogoniland. The Federal Government truly acknowledges the long suffering of Ogoni people, and today we declare with conviction that hope is here and is back with us.

“We have to restart oil production now. Dead assets are not valuable to the community, the country and the people. The further we leave it and the longer we procrastinate, the greater the losses.”

He also directed the Minister of Environment to work with the NSA to integrate environmental remediation and community programmes into a broader dialogue and implementation process.

“Environmental remediation will renew oil production, and we must ensure efficient functionality as an instrument of action,” he added.

To Ogoni leaders and their communities, President Tinubu had a simple advice for them:  close ranks and move forward.

“I urge Ogoni people across communities and generations to close ranks and put this dark chapter behind us. This reconciliation is not an erasure of history; it is the commitment to write the next chapter together. Government will deploy every resource to support Ogoni people in the march towards shared prosperity,” he said.

Conferring the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on the “Ogoni Four’’ — Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Bade, Chief Samuel Orage and Chief Theophilus Orage, the President prayed that their memories “continue to inspire unity and purpose among Nigerians.”

The NSA, Ribadu described the process as transformational, aimed at restoring hope and rebuilding trust after years of neglect and conflict.

He said an inter-agency task force, including NNPCL, ministries, and the Ogoni Dialogue Committee, would oversee implementation of the report.

“Peace is already being restored, and Nigerians will soon see the benefits, not just in Ogoniland, but across the Niger Delta and beyond,” Ribadu said.

Gov Fubara hailed the renewed seriousness of the Federal Government.

“Finally, there is every sign that this government is serious about resolving these issues, and I think we need to give them all the necessary opportunity and time to ensure this problem is resolved once and for all,” he said, pledging his full cooperation.

The committee chairman, Prof Baridam, said the report reflected the collective will of the Ogoni people.

He highlighted demands for structured participation in oil production, accelerated clean-up of Ogoni land and sustainable development as some of the recommendations of the committee.

Prof Baridam described the report as “a blueprint for the future.”

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Prominent activist and former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, told reporters that the meeting signalled a “new dawn” for Ogoni people.

“We are leaving here with hope that something practical is being done and that our matters have received a hearing at the highest level,” Mitee said.

He noted that progress had already begun, including targeted employment and plans for a University of Environmental Technology and an industrial park.

Former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment and son of the late Edward Kobani, one of the Ogoni Four, Kenneth Kobani, was emotional.

“What the President has done today has shown that Nigeria can actually be a better place. No matter how long it takes, Ogoni and Nigeria are on the right path,” he said.

Kobani thanked President Tinubu and Ribadu for recognising the sacrifices of his father and others.