As FG, Niger Delta Talks Begin

In what looks like a renewed determination to resolve the age-long Niger Delta crisis, the Federal Government began talks with stakeholders in the oil-rich region, last Monday.
The first phase of the talks took the nation’s number two man, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Delta State considered to be the hotbed of militancy in the region. The second phase of the dialogue, according to a statement from the office of the Vice President, will take Osinbajo to Bayelsa and Rivers State at a later date to be announced.
The current effort is a follow-up to the Federal Government’s parley with the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), last year. The parley was occasioned by repeated attacks on oil installations in the region by militant groups led by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
In the course of these attacks, PANDEF presented 16-point demand to the Federal Government, last year. These include the Presidential Amnesty Programme, effects of increased military presence in the region, the Ogoni clean-up and environmental remediation, the Maritime University issue, relocation of administrative and operational headquarters of IOCs, restructuring and funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), strengthening the Niger Delta Ministry, inclusive participation in oil industry and ownership of oil blocks, and fiscal federalism, among others.
It is common knowledge that in spite of the region’s economic importance to the nation, the Niger Delta has, for several years, suffered inexplicable neglect, marginalization and underdevelopment. This is exacerbated by environmental degradation arising from oil exploration and criminal neglect of the host communities by both the Federal Government and oil multinationals operating in the region.
The Tide notes that the parlous state of the Niger Delta region led to increased agitation and restiveness in the area. Several attacks have been launched against oil installations by militant groups who felt the region has not been fairly treated. Within last year alone, Nigeria lost over N1.5 trillion to attacks on oil facilities.
It is against this backdrop that The Tide considers the peace shuttle by the Federal Government to the Niger Delta region as a welcome development.
We strongly believe that the renewed negotiation, if pursued with clear minds, will not only end the long years of restiveness in the Niger Delta, but will also provide an enabling environment for the Federal Government to explore and exploit the oil and hydro-carbon resources in the region to fund the nation’s beleaguered economy.
We, therefore, appeal to both the Federal Government and the people of the Niger Delta to seize the latest opportunity offered by the Vice President’s visit to resolve all issues pertaining to the Niger Delta crisis, most especially fiscal federalism, review of oil derivation, repeal of the Land Use Act, review of the oil block licences to ensure major equity ownership by the oil producing people, passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law and general development of the region.
While we expect that the Federal Government, this time, would go to the negotiation table with clean and clear mind devoid of deception, we also urge the Vice President and his team to see their visit to the Niger Delta as a great opportunity to have first-hand information about the parlous state of the region with a view to taking necessary steps to improve the quality of life in the oil-bearing region.
Meanwhile, for the talks to produce far-reaching outcome, it is important for all stakeholders in the region including political leaders, traditional rulers, youths and representatives of the various oil communities to partake in the peace talks. In particular, the involvement of the leaders of the various militant groups is a major sine qua non for the resolution of all the festering issues in the region.
While urging the Federal Government not to leave out any Niger Delta State in the tour, we want to call on the governments of all the states to be visited to ensure adequate sensitization and mobilization of their people ahead of the visit so as to prevent selfish elites from either jeopardizing the success of the trip or even hijacking the visit for selfish gains.
We, however, note that the non-existence of an umbrella body to speak for the Niger Delta people has, over the years, been exploited by the Federal Government to neglect and marginalise the region. With the new existence of a pan-Niger Delta group like the PANDEF, we expect that every other aggrieved group or community in the region would borrow a leaf from the Urhobo Group by presenting their list of demands to PANDEF for proper collation, aggregation and onward submission to the Federal Government. This, in our candid opinion, will enrich the demands and position of the region.
We also appeal to the Federal Government to release all militants that are unjustly detained as well as stop the intimidation of youth leaders in the region. At the same time, we urge militants in the region to halt the ongoing attacks on oil facilities and give peace a chance in order to ensure the success of this fence-mending effort.
It is cheering to know from PANDEF that the Federal Government has adopted the 16-point demand it presented last year. While we hope that the demands would assuage the feelings of the Niger Delta people, we also pray that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would have the political will to implement them.