President Muhammadu Buhari is currently studying the gazette signed by late President Umaru Yar’Adua on the Niger Delta crisis as one of the possible ways of tackling the renewed violence being orchestrated by the Niger Delta Avengers in the region, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
The purpose of revisiting the gazette, it was further learnt, was to ensure that all the agreements contained in the document were implemented by the Federal Government.
The development is coming at a time the destruction of oil facilities in the Niger Delta by the militants has crippled crude oil production and power supply.
By Friday, power generation was said to have dropped to 2,832.5MW because of the attacks.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed to our correspondent on Saturday that the Federal Government was doing all within its ability to restore peace to the Niger Delta.
Adesina listed some of the steps being taken to include consultations and the revisiting of the document signed by the late President.
“Every effort is being made to restore calmness to the Niger Delta, including consultation, and taking a fresh look at the gazette signed by the Umaru Yar’Adua government, so that the agreements contained therein will be implemented,” the presidential spokesman said.
The Senior Special Assistant to President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, had at a press conference on Friday confirmed that some of officials of the Federal Government were already holding discussions on how to end the violence.
Enang had said some ministers along with top government officials from the Niger Delta had opened talks with the governors and aggrieved people from the region on how to resolve the conflict.
He said the government was prepared to peacefully resolve the conflict.
He listed Federal Government’s representatives currently engaging in dialogue with the stakeholders in Niger Delta to include the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.); Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru; Co-ordinator, Amnesty Office, Gen. Paul Boroh (retd.) and other ministers from the region.
He said, “The Minister of Niger Delta, the Minister of Interior, the Coordinator of the Amnesty Office have been taking actions consistent with their powers and with what I know, almost all the ministers and officers from the Niger Delta region have returned to their respective states, zones and blocks to talk to their leaders and their aggrieved persons on the need for us to maintain peace.
“That is going on and they are the representatives of Mr. President. I will not tell you what Mr. President wants to do in person but these are officers and offices which are dealing with this matter.”
— OkoroChukwu IkeChukwu ( Correspondent)
