FG orders immediate withdrawal of military from Niger Delta
Following recent bombings by militants in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, the federal government has ordered immediate withdrawal of military from the zone.
This was arrived at a meeting summoned on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government and Niger Delta states . Disclosing this at the end of the meeting, Delta State Ifeanyi Okowa who briefed state house correspondents said the meeting identified the need for synergy between the federal and the state governments as a very important step going forward.
Elaborating on the collaboration, governor Okowa said: “one thing that we have identified is the synergy between the federal government and states is very important and this meeting has actually revealed a lot of issues and we believe that the collaboration between the Federal Government and States would help us to tackle the issues in the Niger Delta” Governor Okowa disclosed that a lot of decisions were taken at the meeting after they were briefed by Service Chiefs.
He said “we have taken a lot of decisions which we think will help us to mitigate what is going on currently in the states particularly in Delta and Bayelsa”, reiterating the belief that “we are going to find a solution very soon”.
Still on the outcome of the meeting, he added that it was decided that military presence in the region should be de-escalated, though it was agreed that the forces should be kept to provide security and presence while government begins immediate engagement process with the communities in the affected areas.
Asked by press about the fate of the amnesty programme, Governor Okowa noted that the Presidential Adviser on the Amnesty Programme briefed the meeting and stated that the programme was actually still on-going. He added that “we have a Special Adviser in charge of Amnesty and he is doing a lot of work.”
Those at the meeting were Governors from the Niger Delta states which include Governors of Edo, Ondo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, and the Deputy Governor of Cross River.
On the side of the federal government were the Minister of Defense, Rtd. Major General Mohammed Dan Ali, Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
Military service chiefs were also in attendance led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt.Gen. Recall that facts have shown that Nigeria is losing an estimated $6.72m (about N1.3 billion) due intense bombing of oil installations in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria by militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). The $6.72 million was arrived at due to daily loss of 140,000 barrels of crude from oil fields operated in Bayelsa state by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Aiteo Oil and the $48 per barrel price benchmark. We will keep you updated on events as they unfold...
