Senator Shehu Sani has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for ordering the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to take over operation of the entire Oil Mining Lease 11 in Ogoniland from Shell Petroleum Development Company.
Sani represents Kaduna Central senatorial district in the National Assembly.
News of the order broke on Thursday morning.
In a tweet on Thursday, Sani described the president’s order as a ‘courageous step in the right direction.’
He wrote: “Revocation of the oil Licence of the Shell Petroleum Development Company by the President and it’s return to the NNPC is a courageous step in the right direction and commendable.Oil multinationals with a dark history and without concern for host communities should be ejected.”
The order, which was signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, comes at the time when residents of Ogoniland have lamented the desecration of their land and water during oil exploration in the area.
The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC, acknowledged receipt of the letter on March 5, 2019.
NNPC is meant to take over the entire OML 11 from Shell not later than April 30, 2019.
The two firms, NNPC/NPDC, are to write the presidency to confirm assumption of the operatorship by May 2, 2019.
