Traditional rulers and stakeholders from the
Niger Delta on Thursday met the Federal Government and read out terms that
would build confidence as well as restore peace in the region.
This
follows the ceasefire announced by the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant
groups in the region on August 21, 2016.
In
a statement, which was read at the headquarters of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation in Abuja by the Bolowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief
Wellington Okirika, the traditional rulers listed six things the Federal
Government should do in order to build confidence and stop the destruction of
the country’s oil assets by militants in the region.
They
said, “Having acceded to the call for a ceasefire by the Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on August 4, 2016, the buck has now been
passed to the table of the Federal Government as driven by the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources – a representative of the Federal Government.
“For the purposes of building confidence in the
system, we wish to state here that as a matter of urgency the Federal
Government should appoint/constitute a Federal Government dialogue team;
release the 10 innocent school children arrested by the Nigerian Army on the
28th of May, 2016 in Oporoza and others in detention on trumped up charges.
“Return
the Golden Sword, being the symbol of authority in the Gbaramatu traditional
institution; return the three traditional council speed boats in custody of the
Nigerian Army; cessation of hostilities perpetrated by the military in the
Niger Delta region; and equally important, the Federal Government should make a
categorical statement about the opening of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko
Delta State for academic activities in the 2016/2017 session.”
-Punch
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