President not thinking of military force to resolve militant crisis
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Friday said there was nothing on ground to justify the over $40 billion that has accrued to the Niger Delta region in the past 12 years through various intervention agencies.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Friday said there was nothing on ground to justify the over $40 billion that has accrued to the Niger Delta region in the past 12 years through various intervention agencies.
The minister, who spoke at a meeting
held at PTI Conference Centre in Warri, Delta State involving prominent
leaders from the coastal states, including representatives of the
various ethnic groups, Isoko, Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ibiobio and
others, said the $40 billion came mainly from oil companies, Niger Delta
Development Commission, NDDC, 13% derivation and other intervention
funds.
He declared in the presence of monarchs,
youth leaders, politicians and Secretary of MEND: “I’ve been to the
creeks myself and discovered that there was no meaningful development of
the riverine communities as expected by the federal government despite
the huge amount disbursed to the region.”
Stating that the state of infrastructure
is disappointing despite the huge effort to alleviate the
infrastructural defect in the region. He called for an audit of money
expended in the region so far to know what exactly went wrong to avoid
repeating the same mistakes.
“I think we need an audit because it
will not be wise to have agitation of this kind in circle after each
agitation will come back again to demand for the same thing when
intervention funds had made no impact on the lives of the ordinary
people.
The minister also used the forum to
assure leaders of the zone that President Muhammadu Buhari was not
thinking of using the military to resolve the crisis in the region.
Instead, he maintained that the President was desirous of using dialogue to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Instead, he maintained that the President was desirous of using dialogue to find a lasting solution to the problem.
The meeting yesterday was convened by
Ijaw National leader, Chief Edwin Clark in reaction to last Thursday
visit to the minister by Ijaw Monarchs.
The minister urged the leaders to
prevail on their youths to allow peace to reign in the region noting
that no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of
violence.
He told the Niger Delta leaders that the federal government was committed to the development of the region promising to come out soon with short and long term plans in that direction.
He told the Niger Delta leaders that the federal government was committed to the development of the region promising to come out soon with short and long term plans in that direction.
Clark had told the minister that he
should no longer entertain any group or groups that visited him under
the guise of the Niger Delta struggle without asking them whether they
had the permission of their leaders.
He said the Ijaw Monarchs that visited the minister caused great embarrassment for him as other ethnic groups thought the struggle was that of Ijaws.
He said the Ijaw Monarchs that visited the minister caused great embarrassment for him as other ethnic groups thought the struggle was that of Ijaws.
Earlier, the Secretary of MEND, Timipa
Jenkins Okponipene told the meeting that his group had accepted Clark’s
leadership of the proposed team that will dialogue with the federal
government.
He however said MEND would nominate three persons while Chief Clark’s team will nominate another three with slots for other ethnic groups.
He however said MEND would nominate three persons while Chief Clark’s team will nominate another three with slots for other ethnic groups.
Meanwhile, in a telephone interview with
THISDAY last night, Kachikwu disclosed that Niger Delta Avengers (NDA),
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and all other
militant groups have agreed to dialogue with the federal government, to
resolve the crisis in the region.
He stated that he has the full
confidence of the president on this matter and had briefed him regularly
the progress he was making on how he was able to win the confidence of
the millitants who had resisted all entreaties for peace.
He said it took a lot of work behind the
scene with the help of people like Timi Alaibe who made contacts that
had finally resulted to the ceasefire that we have now. It was a
delicate balancing act that still requires a lot of work to consolidate,
we are not there yet, but we will get there,” he added.
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