​Fresh controversy has erupted among key stakeholders in Ogoniland, Rivers State, following sharp disagreements over the planned resumption of oil exploration, procedural transparency, and alleged job racketeering within the Ogoni Dialogue Committee (ODC).
​The friction escalated after KAGOTE, the apex socio-cultural organization representing the four Ogoni local government areas (Khana, Gokana, Tai, and Eleme), issued a public statement demanding full disclosure regarding the negotiation process led by the ODC and its facilitators.
​Addressing newsmen on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at a press briefing in Port Harcourt, Chairman of the ODC and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Don Baridam, forcefully refuted allegations leveled against the committee.
​The controversy stems from claims by KAGOTE and other local groups that certain ODC facilitators had compromised the process, attempted to solicit contracts, smuggled non-indigenes into a 40-slot recruitment package offered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and allowed secret oil drilling operations in communities such as Ban-Ogoi and Alesa-Eleme while formal negotiations were ongoing.
​”The Ogoni Dialogue Committee neither selected nor recruited the beneficiaries,” Prof. Baridam stated, clarifying that NNPCL pulled from its pre-existing candidate database.
He added that the ODC has received no government budgets, distributed no contracts, and possesses no official confirmation that oil production activities under the Ogoni re-entry programme have resumed.
​Responding to the ODC’s defense, KAGOTE President Chief Lesi Maol issued a counter-statement clarifying that the group does not oppose President Bola Tinubu’s administration, National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, or responsible oil production. However, Maol stressed that “constructive criticism is not opposition” and demanded clarity over procedural ambiguities.
​Chief Lesi Maol highlighted key areas requiring immediate clarification include; Harmonization Committee Composition: Who authorized the initial setup of representation for the Ogoni delegation before its recent reconstitution?
An Authoritative disclosure on ongoing activities in Alesa-Eleme and surrounding areas, including under whose authority they are being conducted and Verifiable geographical distribution and selection criteria for the 40 employment slots to ensure equity.
​Concurrently, the Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) Worldwide announced plans to convene a National Youth Congress to prevent internal rancor.
Speaking during the inauguration of the planning committee, OYF President-General Legborsi Yamaabana urged Ogoni leaders to avoid public infighting over the 40 NNPCL jobs, describing the slots as “paltry and insignificant” relative to Ogoni sacrifices.
Yamaabana confirmed that Ogoni youths would formally petition the Federal Government and NNPCL for a minimum of 500 direct employment opportunities as a prerequisite for peaceful re-entry.
