Chicago, USA / Port Harcourt, Nigeria – Ogoni indigenes living in the United States have strongly opposed the Federal Government’s plan to resume oil production in Ogoniland, citing ongoing environmental degradation and unfulfilled promises from the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

The statement came during an emergency Ogoni stakeholders congress held recently in Chicago, conveyed to The Nation by Chief Anthony Waada, President of Ogoni Business Owners in America, and Gbenemene Legbo.

“Our people are still drinking poison. Our villages remain in darkness. Women give birth in agony because there are no hospitals. Yet the government claims progress by cutting ribbons on dead projects. That is not cleanup. That is deliberate cruelty,” Waada said.

The diaspora accused HYPREP of commissioning non-functional water and infrastructure projects in communities including Bodo, Uegwere-Boue, Taabaa, and Eteo across Gokana, Khana, and Eleme LGAs, describing them as “abandoned shells” that benefit private pockets rather than local communities.

They emphasized that any oil resumption must be preceded by full implementation of the UNEP Environmental Assessment Report, which includes access to clean water, remediation of polluted lands, functional healthcare, and livelihood support.

“They want to honor the dead while destroying what they died for. Ken Saro-Wiwa and our heroes laid down their lives for justice, not for the government to smuggle oil rigs into Ogoni soil through the backdoor,” Waada stressed.

The congress resolved that oil development in Ogoniland is off the table until the Federal Government demonstrates transparency, negotiates with authentic community representatives, complies with local content laws, and ensures real development commitments, including relocating operational headquarters of oil companies to the region.

The diaspora pledged to use international diplomacy and legal avenues, including the UN and African Union, to defend Ogoniland, while calling for peaceful unity among Ogonis worldwide.

“We are peaceful, but not passive. We are wounded, but unbroken. Ogoni oil will only flow when justice flows first,” Waada concluded.

---