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ABUJA – After more than a decade of legal uncertainty and public scrutiny, the Council of Traditional Rulers of Atissa Kingdom has demanded a fair, orderly and conclusive resolution to the long-running case involving former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief (Mrs) Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Speaking in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the council, custodians of the historic Epie Atissa Ijaw clans, said the continued absence of a definitive legal conclusion has turned what should have been a process of justice into an enduring burden that has effectively forced their daughter into exile.
The monarchs said that despite years of investigations both within and outside Nigeria, a fundamental fact remains unchanged: Alison-Madueke has not been convicted of any crime in Nigeria.
According to them, justice loses its moral authority when it stretches endlessly without closure.
Reading the text of the communiqué at a conference, the Paramount Ruler of Yenaka Community, HRH Sir Ovie Owen Omeleh, said the Atissa people could no longer remain silent while the dignity of one of their own remained in limbo.
“The People of the Atissa Kingdom stand by their daughter. We do not forget the leader who facilitated the growth of our youth and the strengthening of our traditional institutions.
“We do not forget the Princess who carried the Ijaw name with grace into the councils of the world’s most powerful nations. We demand a fair and orderly conclusion to this ten-year chapter.
“We ask for a resolution that respects the dignity of our royal house and the rights of a Nigerian citizen who has served her country at its highest levels. Chief (Mrs) Diezani Alison-Madueke remains a cherished member of our royal lineage and a vital pillar of the Atissa Kingdom.
“It is time for this protracted separation to end and for the narrative to return to the truth of her contributions to her state and her nation.”
The council stressed that its intervention was not driven by sentiment alone but by a sense of historical responsibility.
It said the Atissa people are known for patience, but patience without justice, when prolonged for over ten years, becomes an affront to both the individual involved and the community she represents.
Beyond the call for closure, the rulers devoted significant attention to what they described as Alison-Madueke’s “concrete and lasting contributions to regional and national development, particularly in the Niger Delta.”
They declared that beyond international recognition, “their daughter had been a singular and reliable factor in the development of the Atissa Kingdom, Bayelsa State and the wider Niger Delta, insisting that her impact was documented and measurable, not a matter for debate.”
Central to this legacy, the council noted, “was her role as the driving force behind the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, commonly known as the Local Content policy.”
To communities in the Niger Delta, the rulers said, “the legislation marked a turning point that redefined participation in the oil and gas sector.”
According to the council, the law transformed Niger Delta people from spectators to active owners, service providers and skilled professionals within an industry that had operated on their land for decades with decisions taken far from their communities.
The siting of the local content regulator in the region, they added, carried symbolic weight, reinforcing a sense of inclusion and belonging.
They further noted that the policy was not exclusive to the Niger Delta, as companies in Lagos and other parts of the country also benefited under the same framework, demonstrating that it was designed as a fair national pathway rather than a regional favour.
The monarchs maintained that this single piece of legislation achieved more in empowering Ijaw businesses than years of political rhetoric, adding that Alison-Madueke’s tenure was also marked by sustained investment in infrastructure and human capital across communities in the kingdom.
Reiterating their demand, the council said “the prolonged legal and public ordeal faced by Alison-Madueke over the past decade has steadily taken on the character of injustice, especially in the absence of a conclusive legal outcome.”
They recalled her career milestones, describing her rise as a series of barriers broken, from becoming the first female Executive Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, to serving as a minister across three strategic portfolios—Transport, Mines and Steel, and Petroleum Resources—and eventually emerging as the first female President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, where she presided over the world’s leading oil-producing body.
The statement concluded with a reflection on the cultural weight of the council’s decision to speak publicly.
This statement, which is born of a deep sense of responsibility, historical truth, and an unwavering commitment to one of our own, said, “We speak today as elders and custodians of our people, our land, and our memory.”
In the Ijaw kingdom, elders do not rush to speak. We speak when silence would mean that truth, experience, and balance are being lost. We speak when what we have seen with our own eyes is being forgotten.
