Revealed! How FG plans to stop Niger Delta Avengers

– Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for Petroleum Resources says the FG has set up a committee to negotiate with the militant group

– He says the committee to engage the militants will be coordinated by the office of the National Security Adviser

– He says 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

– He says Nigeria has lost about 600,000 barrels from various attacks of militants in the Niger Delta area

Following the continued bombing of oil installations by the Niger Delta Avengers, the federal government on Monday night, June 6, announced that it has set up a committee to negotiate with the militant group.

This was disclosed in a statement by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

According to him, the move was aimed at halting the deadly attacks which had made Nigeria’s oil production plummet to 1.5 million barrels per day, The Punch reports.

READ ALSO: APC accuses PDP of sponsoring Niger Delta Avengers

The FG have announced that it has set up a committee to negotiate with the Niger Delta Avengers, over continued bombing of oil installations.

Kachikwu noted that the team to engage the militants will be coordinated by the office of the National Security Adviser. 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.

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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.

“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.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly studying the gazette signed by late President Umaru Yar’Adua on the Niger Delta crisis as one of the possible ways of resolving the growing menace of the Niger Delta Avengers.

The main aim of revisiting the gazette is to ensure that all the agreements contained in the document were implemented by the federal government. This was disclosed by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina.

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