DOWNLOAD BREAKING: Niger Delta militants frustrating government’s dialogue option – Presidency (zip/mp3)
The Presidency has regretted that despite the Federal Government’s good faith in pursuing dialogue with the Niger Delta stakeholders, the militant groups have not reciprocated the government’s good gesture in finding peaceful and lasting solution to the crisis in the oil-producing areas of Nigeria.
According to a statement on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in an interview he granted a Kano-based radio station, Express Radio.
“Despite the government’s practical demonstration of goodwill by bringing the parties or stakeholders to the round table, the militant groups have continued to blow up national economic assets,” he said.
Shehu said the continued destruction of oil installations, including those repaired, had thrown a spanner in the works.
He admitted that the vandalism is causing enormous hardships on innocent Nigerians on account of declining oil production output and massive losses of revenues, which in turn, badly affect the ability of governments at all levels to meet their basic obligations, including payment of salaries.
While saying that violence brings no benefits to anybody, Shehu appealed to Niger Delta leaders at all levels to exert every influence they have to stop the violence and economic sabotage “so that normalcy returns to the region.”
He also appealed to the militants to maintain peace in the region as the President seeks a permanent solution to the problems that are worrisome to every citizen.
“We must keep national interest above all and give priority to eschewing violence and destruction,” he urged.
Shehu also said Nigeria was taking a giant leap in infrastructure development by speeding up ongoing projects and investing heavily in the construction and repair of highways, railways and power generating plants across the country.
He said administration had chosen to fast track projects related to infrastructure in order to pump money into the economy as a way of pulling the economy out of recession.
To this end, he said N750bn has been released for capital projects in the last five months and that counterpart funds for the take-off of the $11bn Kano-Lagos rail project had been paid.
According to the presidential spokesman, a number of projects existing on paper are now being activated, citing the Kano-Katsina dual road project as an example of what he called “deceitful and ghost projects now being given life.”
“Kano-Katsina dual highway was awarded three years ago by the last administration. They didn’t pay a kobo for its start-up. President Buhari just paid money for the first tranche of 75 kilometers and work has begun apace,” he added.
Shehu explained the essence of infrastructure in the country’s economic and industrial take-off, describing it as the equivalent of the arteries forming the bloodstream in the body.
“Without infrastructure, the country will not witness growth,” he noted.
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The militants under the aegis of Ultimate Warriors of the Niger Delta said their patience was running out since government had refused to discuss with them in a ceasefire that elapsed on Monday. UWND in a statement its Media Director, Sibiri Taiowoh also pledged affiliation with the rampaging Niger Delta Avengers. The group threatened to embarked on full-scale destruction of oil installations in the days ahead. The group in the statement titled, ‘If you make the peaceful change that we seek impossible, we will make violent change possible’, stressed, “We are sounding this as a last warning before the whirlwind gets down. The tsunami that would descend in coming days would be severe for the current government to handle. “We bet you this government wouldn’t be able to handle what would happen in the Niger Delta in the days ahead. When it gets down, they would say the opposition is behind it but we don’t care. All over the world, militia groups emerge for a reason and we have made our reasons clear and vivid.” According to them, instead of the government to open doors of discussion, its senior ministers were busy throwing punches at each other and playing politics with the core issues relating to the region. It added, “Two week of ceasefire had gone without any tangible effort by the government. No roundtable dialogue has kick started, instead, government officials are quarreling over critical issue of national important. “Our patience is running out and we have decided to let the world know our grievances pure and plain again. The operations that would follow these plans are strategic and all operations would be codified as our goals have been codified in a one line mission statement.” “Our mission is simple; give us our rightful due as producer of Nigeria oil wealth. We would not give you the peace you want to continue the exploitation of our people if we don’t see proactive government action on major federal government projects in the Niger Delta like the multibillion dollar Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project and the already approved Federal University of Maritime in Okenrenkoko, Delta state. “For us, this is not about Jonathan, not about Tompolo and any other person they are pointing fingers to as master mind of this well planned attacks. This is about us-the indigent people. This is about our mothers and children you are being ripped off. And some have said why now; it is simple. There is time for everything; this is the time for change and we want the change in the Niger delta now!”, the statement further stated. It however distanced itself from some militant groups demanding the FG unfroze some suspected corrupt politicians’ account or halting the prosecution of any person under investigation saying they were not going to be part of any dialogue process lacking transparency and sincerity. It stated further, “We are of several units in the region and we have commanders, willing soldiers across the region who are waiting for the next line of action to strike. Our mission is to drive government attention to act fast because dialogue-upon- dialogue has failed us. We will ruin the Nigerian oil wealth until Nigeria is restructuring to reflect a true government of the people. “The federal government cannot continue to give us crumbs. We own the oil, we own the wealth, we will no longer accept outsider’s controlling oil blocs that are in our land. We want 60 percent of it for our people because we own the resources that sustain the country. “If the federal government cannot call itself to order by visiting the Niger Delta Master Plan or commence immediate implementation of the portion of the 2014 National Conference which created a new road map for the speedy development of the region, then Buhari should expect violent change for his first four years in office. “We are giving the National Assembly ultimatum to act in this direction towards the Niger Delta region. We cannot have you and still be suffering annexation, deprivation and gross injustice in the hands of the Nigeria state. By the time we are through with total blowing up or shutting down of all oil installations in the core oil producing states of Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Ondo, where willing men have been positioned, the members of the legislature who failed to act decisively when we needed them most in this crisis would be our next targets. The institutions will follow”, it added.
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