President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Niger Delta stakeholders to join him in finding solutions to the nation’s problems or relocate to another country of their choice. This was even as the stakeholders presented him with 16-point demand if peace should be returned to the region.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying when he met with the elders and stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja: “we are determined to make life comfortable and affordable to all Nigerians. If anybody has a country to go to, let him go; we will stay here and salvage our country.”
The President told them that they have more to do than anyone else to bring peace to the region, given the influence they have on militant groups.
He expressed the determination of his administration to stay focused on its key campaign promises of securing the country, fighting corruption and creating jobs through the improvement of the economy.
He said that peace, security, investment and prosperity are linked together, adding that “if we give peace a chance, investors will come here to invest. Nobody will invest in an insecure environment.”
President Buhari said that the problems his administration found on the ground were many, as illustrated in collapse of oil prices, inability of 27 of the 36 states to pay salaries, absence of savings to fall back and having to deal with elite who didn’t seem to care.
All these, he said, made his government to conclude that, “life as usual is no longer affordable.”
In welcoming the 16-point request presented for negotiation by the Niger Delta leaders, Buhari said he was still expecting reports from officials he had instructed to review the implementation of the Amnesty programme to determine where government fell short so that amends can be made.
The President said that the service chiefs were putting together their own assessment of the militancy situation, saying “when I have these reports, including this one that was just presented, we will revisit the situation in the region to ensure that we succeed this time.”
The President, who delivered his report card on the war against corruption and the efforts to secure the country, repeated his call to the Niger Delta leaders to join the administration in bringing peace to the troubled region.
The stakeholders, led by the nation’s former information minister, Chief Edwin Clerk, had earlier presented 16-point demand to the President.
Some Of Their Demands are:
- Pull army out of the region
- Order oil firms to move headquarters there
- Oil firms to employ more youths
- More funds for the development
- More funds for the amnesty plan for ex fighters
- Empower its people through training
- Adequate investment in infrastructure
- Clean up of oil spills
One of the elders, King Diete-Spiff said: “The list also includes the withdrawal of the military in oil producing communities in the region.
“We don’t want the communities militarized.”
They also want firms to move headquarters to the region so unemployed youths – who often work for militants – could get more jobs. Foreign firms active in Nigeria are often based in the commercial capital Lagos.
The Niger Delta leaders also asked for more funds for the development and an amnesty plan for ex fighters which Buhari had planned to cut, which has upset the militants.
President Buhari had in May sent in army reinforcements to hunt down militants, a move that stoked anger, triggering more attacks on oil installations in the region, with a demand for more share of the oil revenue.
The meeting became necessary, after months of attacks on oil facilities, brought down crude oil output and dipped the nation’s revenue.
On his part the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, expressed joy that leaders in the region had come to put the demands forward, said that crude oil production in Nigeria had appreciated to 2.1 million barrels per day following the peace that was gradually returning to the region.
He has a responsibility to ensure that Nigeria meets its quota in the oil market and he observed that relative peace was necessary to achieve it.
The Niger Delta region has been described as the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But years of neglect have led to degradation of the region and subsequent administrations in Nigeria have done nothing about it.
Youths in the region have come in various colours of agitation, blowing up the pipelines, adding to the degradation of the region
But President Buhari’s administration may bring a turnaround to the region, if the agreement reached at the two-hour meeting of Tuesday would be implemented.
Also at the meeting were the Vice President, state governors, ministers, service chiefs and other well-meaning citizens from the Niger Delta.
Talks at the meeting also focused on how to end the constant destruction of facilities in the region.
Over six militant groups have sprang up in the Niger Delta region, the latest being the Niger Delta Avengers.
Reports from some of the groups indicate that they may not be part of the meeting called by the Federal Government, raising doubt as to full representation of all agitating splinter groups.
This is just one in the series of meetings the government has designed to bring a lasting peace to the Niger Delta region.
With the meeting and demands presented to the government, it is hoped that hostility in the region in form of attacks on oil installations would cease
Among those who attended the meeting from the Niger Delta were Obong Victor Attah, Timi Alaibe, Diette Spiff, Ledu Mitee, Florence Ita-Giwa, Tony Uranta, Nkoyo Toyo, Senator Ewa Henshaw, Seminatri Bozimo and Roland Owei. [myad]
