FG inaugurates committee to negotiate with N’Delta Avengers

The Federal Government on Monday night announced that it has set up a
committee to negotiate with the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, that
has been involved in the destruction of oil installations in the Niger Delta
region.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,
who said this in Abuja, explained that the move was aimed at halting the
deadly attacks which had made Nigeria’s oil production plummet to 1.5
million barrels per day.
According to him, the team that will engage the militants will be
coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He said other members of the team included himself, the Minister of Niger
Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru as well as selected leaders, kings and influential
individuals from the Niger Delta.
Kachikwu said, “The President has appointed a team led by the NSA and I
serve in one of those, to begin the process of a very intensive dialogue with
those caught in the middle of this. I am sure that in the ensuing one week
the intensity of that dialogue will wrap up.
“The NSA is going to be working with the various arms of the armed forces
to descale the intensity of military intervention in the area within a week or
two so that dialogue can take place. We are making contacts with
everybody who is involved, the ones that we can identify, through them, the
ones that we can’t identify so that there is a lot more inclusiveness in this
dialogue. Our prayer is that this works so that we resort to dialogue rather
than use of force.”
On the loss recorded as a result of the attacks by the Niger Delta Avengers,
Kachikwu said, “Over the last two months, we have probably lost about
600,000 barrels from various attacks of militants in the area. In terms of
production, we are roughly at about 1.5 million to 1.6 million barrels a day,
down from 2.2mbd which is the basis of this year’s budget and if peace
reigns, obviously between now and August we will be able to recover
substantial portion of this production so that the budget doesn’t suffer.”
Culled from Punch