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At a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
and other top government officials on Tuesday,
representatives of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria
presented 16 points they believe should be
considered by the government and implemented to
end militancy in the region and boost development.
The presidential amnesty Programme: the decry that
out of the five components of the disarmament and
retrieval of weapons from the ex-militants, only the
disarmament and demobilisation component is being
implemented. Tensions over the fate of the Niger
Delta Amnesty Programme is as a result of lack of
genuine exit strategy. They want the Programme
reviewed to reappraise its core mandate to provide a
robust exist strategy, in order to transit recipients into
jobs, effectively integrate them and few the of
dependency on stipends, so that their new-found
skills would be of benefit to themselves and larger
community.
Law and Justice issues: in view of the insecurity
situation in the Niger delta, a number of pending law
and justice issues regarding some aggrieved groups
and individuals are yet to be resolved. It is important
to address these issues urgently as a step towards
lasting peace.
The effect of increased military presence in the Niger
Delta: the increased in military presence has resulted
in invasion of communities, displacement of persons,
harassment and other firms of human rights abuse.
They want government to halt the the escalation of
tension in the region.
Plights of internally displaced persons: they want
relevant government agencies to take urgent
measures to meet their immediate needs of those
displaced by upsurge of insecurity in the region.
The Ogoni clean-up and environmental remediation:
they want government to speed up the exercise. They
want government to enforce zero gas flare deadline.
They want the devastating effects of coastal erosion
and lack of an effective shoreline protection for the
coastal communities tackled urgently. They ask
federal government to commission a region-wide
credible assessment of the impacts of crude oil
pollution of the environment in the region and
undertake to enforce environmental laws.
The Maritime University Issue: want prompt take off
of the Niger Delta university
Key regional critical infrastructure: they want
completion of of East-West road, full implementation
of the rail project that is designated to run through the
Niger Delta region to Lagos.
Security surveillance and protection of oil and gas
infrastructure. They want pipeline surveillance
contracts given to the communities rather than
individuals in a manner that is some benefits to their
responsibility. Communities would the see their
responsibility over the pipelines as protection of what
belongs to them.
Relocation of Administrative and Operational
Headquarters of IOCs: the headquarters of most oil
companies are not located in the Niger Delta Region.
As a result the region is denies all the developmental
and associated benefits that would have accrued to
the region from their presence. It has therefore
become imperative for the IOCs to relocate to their
areas of operation. This move will create a mutually
beneficial relationship with the host communities.
10: Power supply: they advocate a power plan
that strongly ties power supply in the region to
gas supplies, thereby giving all sides a stake in
proved stability.
Economic development and empowerment: they want
Brass LNG and fertiliser plant project including the
Train 7 implemented, reviewing and updating the
national gas master plan to integrate the economic
interests and industrialization of the region, creating a
Niger Dekta industrial corridor that would process
some portions of the bat hydrocarbon natural
resources, expediting work on the export processing
zones, harnessing the huge rain-fed agricultural
potentials of the area through the development of
farms estates, fishery development projects and
Agro-Allied industrial clusters etc.
Inclusive participation in oil industry and ownership of
oil blocs. They want the federal government to
enunciate policies and actions that will address the
lack of participation as well as imbalance in the
ownership of oil and gas assets.
Restructuring and funding of the NDDC: The
restructuring will ensure it refocuses as a true
interventionist agency to respond swiftly to the
yearnings of the grassroots of the Niger Delta.
Communities must be able to have a say in what
projects come to them and also want full
implementation of the funding provisions of the NDDC
Act.
Strengthening the Niger Delta Ministry: they say the
era of abysmal funding should end. The ministry
should be adequately funded and strengthen to fulfill
the purpose for which it was created.
The Bakassi Question, recommend a comprehensive
resettlement plan including development for the host
communities and displaced population to reduce the
risk of making the into a stateless people.
Fiscal federalism, the region supports the call for true
federalism and urged that federal government should
treat the matter expeditiously.

Suspected militants have bombed a state-run oil
pipeline near the southern Nigerian oil hub of Warri in
the latest blow to the industry, a security source and
community leader said Wednesday.
The Trans Forcados export line was attacked late
Tuesday, they said, just hours after President
Muhammadu Buhari met with representatives of
militant groups in the oil-rich Niger delta to discuss
how to end the unrest plaguing the region.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s
attack.
“The attack was carried out with the aid of dynamite
and it is coming less than 48 hours after the
resumption of operations at the flow station,” a
security official, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The pipeline was attacked in July and had only
resumed operation at the weekend following repairs.
Dickson Ogugu, chairman of Batan community where
the pipeline is based, confirmed the incident, saying a
surveillance team had identified the site of the attack.
“The entire river is flooded with contents from the
damaged trunkline and we are at the receiving end.”
The line is operated by the Pipelines and Product
Marketing Company (PPMC) and receives crude from
Batan near Warri.
Since February, several militant groups have attacked
oil facilities, slashing the nation’s output and
hammering revenues.
The groups claim to be seeking a fairer share of
Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for residents of
the region — as well as greater political autonomy.
Following peace talks in Abuja chaired Tuesday by the
president, junior oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said
the country’s oil production was returning to normal.
“The reality is that as of today and this morning, we
are at 2.1 million barrels production. That’s
substantial,” he said, adding that efforts to secure
peace were succeeding.
Nigeria normally produces around 2.2 million barrels
per day (bpd), but output dropped to a low of 1.4 bpd
this year due to rebel attacks.

representatives of militant groups which have been
attacking oil facilities in the restive region, a witness and
official said.
A Reuters reporter saw state governors and traditional
rulers from the swamp lands meet Buhari and top
security officials at the presidential villa in Abuja. An
official said militant groups had also sent representatives.
President Buhari said any Nigerian who has another
country to relocate to is free to do so while those without
remain to solve the nation’s problems.
According to a statement by Garba Shehu, a
spokesperson to the president, Buhari spoke while
addressing Niger Delta 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,”
Shehu quoted the President as saying.
Buhari was said to have told the leaders of the Niger Delta
that they had 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 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.”
Buhari said 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 an 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 the service chiefs were putting
together their own assessment of the militancy situation,
saying “when I have these reports, including this one (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.
“Please Your Excellencies, Your Majesties, Distinguished
ladies and gentlemen; we all have our individual
constituencies. Let us try to pacify our constituencies,”
the president is quoted as saying.
“Let us first recover our country, secure the country and
let us invite people who will invest.
“Let us create jobs for our people and let us be
accountable to our people where we are sitting on
treasuries, whether it is local government, state or the
center.
“We should ensure that we rebuild this country. Nobody
wants to fail. So, the only way out is, if people understand
and believe that we are doing our best at all levels, then
we will have some peace.
“But it they have reason to doubt our performance and
sincerity, then we will have problem.”
In their own presentation, the leaders and Stakeholders of
the Niger Delta Region led by Chief Edwin Clark, a former
minister put across to the president 16 issues for
dialogue, for which they demanded a composite
government committee.
The issues included, among others, the completion of
major road projects in the region, the take-off of the
maritime university, the full activation of ports in Niger
Delta and other waterways, the relocation of international
oil companies to the region.
Others issues include the issuance of oil blocks to the
states and other stakeholders as well as the strengthening
of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC and
the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. They also broached
the issue of fiscal federalism.
The Niger Delta leaders reaffirmed their support for the
federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari
and expressed total commitment to the unity, peace and
stability of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Abba Kyari the president’s
chief of staff, and Babachir David Lawal , the secretary to
the federal government, were also present at the meeting.
The ministers of justice, defence, petroleum (state),
transportation, Niger Delta, education (state), the chief of
defence staff, the national security adviser, the director-
general, DSS, the chief of army staff, chief of naval staff,
the representative of the Chief of Air Staff and the
inspector-general of police were also in attendance.
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Tags: efcc ifeanyi ubah naija news
Nigerian oil mogul has blamed the country's economic woes
on the activities of the Economic Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC.
Speaking on ways to rejig the economy, he said "the only
solution to Nigeria's economic problems is one - addressing
the cancer that has persistently eaten up our Forex.
He added that the cancer responsible for the proliferating
Dollar/Naira disparity can be eliminated if 10 modular
refineries are set up.
He then dropped a bombshell by saying "the second cancer
that is affecting us is the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC)."
"The duty of EFCC is to look into financial crimes. The duty
of EFCC is to look into those that have taken so many
waivers. So many people in Nigeria today are big men
because they are enjoying government waivers. Majority of
Nigeria's big men are lazy people. They always find a way
to take waivers.
"The EFCC must come to terms with their duty and create a
real economic crime desk. If the EFCC can look into every
importer accessing dollars and what our dollars are being
used for. If the EFCC can create an economic code that
everybody that must use to access dollars making it
mandatory that every bid should be made through the EFCC,
if everybody is made to sign a guarantee that the
government can look into whatever he/she has bid and
monitor the use of the money, those that are milking
Nigeria's dollars will run away.
"The EFCC must stop the pursuit of only past leaders. Not
that they should not do their job by going after past leaders,
but they need to look into the amount of Nigerians that are
taking waivers, they need to look at the number of people
accessing dollars for agricultural contents who divert the
same dollars to Dubai and then bring the dollar back into the
country to make money without doing anything.'
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