FG, Niger Delta Govs Agree On Troop Withdrawal For Dialogue

From left: Governors Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta) and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo) during a meeting of the Niger Delta governors with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (right) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday.

The Federal Government and governors of states in the Niger Delta region yesterday agreed on the immediate withdrawal of troops from the region and intelligence sharing in a bid to restore peace in the region.

Daily Trust report continues:

It was the outcome of a five-hour emergency meeting the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, held with the governors and military chiefs over the spate of attacks on oil installations. A group called the Niger Delta Avengers has been blowing up oil installations in the region, and vowed to ground Nigeria’s oil production. The military had responded heavily to protect critical oil infrastructure, and though government said it was withdrawing troops, they will still patrol waterways in the area.

Consistent attacks by the group have caused a major drop in Nigeria’s oil output from 2.2 million to 1.6 million barrels per day. Another militant group in the region, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), had threatened to bomb major government buildings in Abuja and other cities in the country, beginning from midnight yesterday. Yesterday’s meeting which took place at the Vice President’s Wing of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, was attended by the governors of Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Abia, Edo and Delta States as well as the Defence Minister Mansur Dan-Ali, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Usani Uguru and Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta retired Major General Paul Boroh.
Briefing State House reporters on the outcome of the meeting, the governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, said military action would be stopped to enable immediate engagement with the militants.

“One thing we identified, which is the synergy between the federal and state governments, is very important. And this meeting has raised a lot of issues, and we believe that the collaboration will help us to tackle the issues in the Niger Delta. Of course, we were briefed by the service chiefs and the governors also had their own perspectives along with the Minister of State for Petroleum. We’ve taken a lot of decisions which will help us mitigate what is going on currently in the states, particularly Bayelsa and Delta. We believe we’re going to find solutions to it. One of such is that there is a need for us to share intelligence which is very important and for us to be proactive, working together with the various stakeholders in the states, to achieve a better result going forward.

“We’ve also agreed that there is a need to distil military operations directly in communities, but the military needs to actually remain on our waterways to ensure that we adequately man the waterways itself while we engage the communities and that engagement process is starting any moment from now,” Okowa said.
Asked if the Niger Delta amnesty programme would be revisited, the governor said the programme was still ongoing.

“We have a special adviser in charge of amnesty and he’s doing very well. I am aware he came in to talk with some of the communities and along with the advocacy team that was put up in Delta State. He briefed us today (yesterday) and I believe it’s going to be maintained,” he said.

On when the outcome of the meeting would be implemented, Okowa said: “Right from today (yesterday). There is a meeting right after this, and we’re going to be collaborating even as we return to our various states.” The governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, said the meeting agreed that the federal government and the states should work together to refocus on development, economic, military and community issues.

“Nigeria is not at war, and we cannot be at war with ourselves. If we have conflicts, we’ll talk through those conflicts. There are laws that have to be enforced. I think in all of these, the whole idea is to find peace that is functional, that creates environment for very decent Nigerians to live,” he said.

Oshiomhole also affirmed that the amnesty programme was on “but there was a little transition because there is a new leadership and there’s always a time lag. In principle, the programme is on. There are stories about non-payment and those problems are being addressed. Funds are being provided. The government recognizes that the amnesty programme has to be sustained, but also, we can improve on it because we’ve trained people. People have been sent for training and have come back and they should be able to apply those skills.

If they don’t apply the skills, they become unemployed. Then, the problem persists. We need multiple tools to deal with the issues. Fortunately, for people to be able to apply the skills acquired in the course of the amnesty training, they need an environment that’s investment friendly,” Oshiomhole added.

Nigerian Govt Orders Immediate Withdrawal Of Troops From Niger Delta Communities

Media reports that the Nigerian government has ordered the immediate withdrawal of troops from communities in the Niger Delta region, amid allegations of a heavy-handed military response to renewed attacks on oil and gas installations in the area.

A new group called the Niger Delta Avengers has declared war on the installations, vowing to ground Nigeria’s oil production.

The group, which says it wants a sovereign state of the Niger Delta, has attacked several facilities in recent weeks, cutting oil and gas production and forcing oil companies to shut some export terminals.

Residents of the area have however complained of harassment and indiscriminate arrests by soldiers hunting the militants.

The government said it was withdrawing troops immediately. Soldiers will continue to patrol the waterways.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, governors from states in the Niger Delta region, some ministers and service chiefs.

The minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, had on Monday announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed a two-week cessation of military offensive in the Niger Delta region, to enable the government dialogue with the militants.

Speaking to journalists after Tuesday’s meeting, Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, said, “We have also agreed that there is a need to distill military operations directly in communities, but the military need to actually remain on our waterways to ensure that we adequately man the waterways itself while we engage the communities and that engagement process is starting any moment from now”.

Mr. Okowa said during the meeting they received briefings on the current state of things and agreed that a synergy, especially in a form of intelligence sharing, between the Federal Government and the States would help in tackling the problem.

“We have taken a lot of decisions which will help us mitigate what is going on currently in the states particularly Bayelsa and Delta.

“One of such is that there is a need for us to share intelligence which is very important and for us to be proactive, working together with the various stakeholders in the states to achieve a better result going forward,” he said.

He said the decision of withdrawing the troops took was to begin immediately.

Others at the meeting include the governors of Edo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers State. The deputy governor of Cross River State also attended the meeting.

All service chiefs, ministers of Niger Delta, Petroleum (state) and Defence were also in attendance.

The Edo state governor, Mr. Oshiomhole, told journalists that Nigeria was not at war as the government was ready to address the conflict.

“If we have conflicts, we will talk through those conflicts. There are laws that have to be enforced. I think that in all of these the whole idea is to find peace that is functional, that creates an environment for very decent Nigerians to live their lives,” he said.