Ogoni youth groups ask Tinubu to explain $300m dialogue fund and back Bori State

Seventeen Ogoni youth leaders have written to President Bola Tinubu asking his government to explain a reported $300 million linked to the Ogoni dialogue, and to put the creation of Bori State at the centre of any plan to carry out the talks' recommendations.

The group, the Coalition of Ogoni Youth Groups (COYOG), made the demands in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by leaders including Chief Kpakol Kpakol of the Ogoni National Youth Congress and Gen. Ikeh Albert Jnr of the Khana Youth Assembly.

The Ogoni dialogue produced 20 demands, and the youth groups say the government has been slow to act on them. They want the Federal Government to spell out in writing who is responsible for each demand, when it will be done, how it will be paid for, and how the public will be told about progress.

Questions over the $300m

On the reported $300 million, the coalition said Ogoni people deserve clear answers about where the money came from, whether it exists, what it is meant for, and who is managing it. The group said questions about money meant for the public good should not be silenced or turned into a reason to stall the wider dialogue.

"Transparency must be non-negotiable," the coalition said, adding that accountability and finishing the dialogue can happen together.

The youth leaders also asked Tinubu to set up a Presidential Implementation Committee with real authority, clear targets and the power to coordinate the work. They said the dialogue's report should not end up as campaign promises or ceremonies.

On Bori State, COYOG said the demand should be handled openly through the constitutional process for creating states, and must not be ignored, postponed indefinitely or used as a bargaining chip by politicians. The group called it a question of political inclusion, fair representation and easier access to government.

Dispute over who leads the dialogue committee

The statement also touched on who leads the Ogoni Dialogue Committee (ODC). COYOG said Senator Olaka Wogu was described as the committee's leader at a service of songs in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, a description the group rejected. It said Wogu sits on the committee's Harmonisation Subcommittee, while Professor Don Baridam leads the main committee.

"No individual, irrespective of political status or influence, should place himself above the established institutional framework of the ODC," the coalition said, while saying it respects Wogu as a political leader.

The group asked religious and public figures to confirm official positions before making statements that could confuse Ogoni people. It also urged the committee under Baridam to give regular public updates and publish a roadmap.

COYOG warned that politicians and other interests were trying to take over the process for personal gain, and said the talks belong to all Ogoni people. It said success should be judged by promises kept and better living conditions, not by the number of meetings held.