MOSOP Provisional Council Shuns Reconciliation Meeting With Coordinators

Ogoninews was reliably informed that some concerned citizens had called for the intervention of the Ogoni elders, prominent among them were former MOSOP President Ledum Mitee, Prof. Don Baridam, Prof. R. Konya, Chief Philip Badom, and Bishop Poromon. They urged the elders to call both parties to a reconciliation table and to see to a possible harmony between them.

Recall that trouble started between the MOSOP Coordinators in January 2012 after the MOSOP Provisional Ruling Council unilaterally changed its name from ‘Caretaker Committee’ and announced its willingness to go into discussions with companies interested in oil exploration in Ogoniland. The Coordinators condemned the move arguing that it was too hasty and suspicious.

The misunderstanding between the two worsened after the Coordinators announced they were sacking the ‘Caretaker Committee’ in July due to a secret meeting between its Chairman Prof. Ben Naanen and the Shell Petroleum Development Company which the former failed to communicate to the Ogoni people 3months later.

On November 10, the Coordinators called for a boycott of the events to mark Saro-Wiwa’s memorial arguing that MOSOP had been hijacked by friends of Shell who plan to sponsor candidates backed by Shell in the forth-coming elections. For the same reason, they call for a boycott of the elections.

The call was overwhelmingly followed by the Ogonis who completely boycotted both the events of Saro-Wiwa’s memorial and the elections.

Ogoninews learnt yesterday that the Coordinators obtained a court order to stop the elections, a move that could have further frustrated the peace process. No further date had been fixed for the meeting.

Source: OgoniNews