OGONI NEWS

Ogoni forge ahead with self-govt, set up investment bank

The factional leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, has announced plan to establish the Ogoni Savings and Investment Development Bank (OSIDBANK).

Diigbo, whose declaration of Ogoni Independence has pitted him against the Prof. Ben Naanenn-led MOSOP Provisional Council, said the bank would encourage savings, investment and development in Ogoniland.

“Individual Ogonis, villages, groups and farmers' and traders’ cooperatives in Ogoni will become shareholders in OSIDBANK with branches in cities, towns and villages throughout Ogoni,” Diigbo hinted.

The controversial MOSOP leader, who announced the plan on his Facebook page, said finance experts, including retired bankers drawn from Ogoni, are working on the basic document for an agreement on bye-laws; shareholders, rules for staffing, operations, reporting procedure and setting up of management board.

Diigbo waving the Ogoni government flag

He said that those drafting the document will meet with the Ogoni Self-Government before the end of August 2012 to review its content in order to formally establish OSIDBANK.

Diigbo said OSIDBANK was possible through the invocation of Article 5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which authorizes indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions.

He was speaking on the outcome of a joint session of elected representatives under the Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority (OCIA), which was held at Teyork in the Bori National Territory; following the August 2, 2012 formal declaration of the Ogoni Self-Government.

Diigbo added that profits from OSIDBANK will be applied in the agricultural sector to finance storage and food processing, education for the future, women advancement, leadership capacity development and the promotion of international cooperation in trade and development.