Buhari to Tackle Militancy with Yar’Adua’s Niger Delta Agreement

President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be  studying a gazette signed by late President Umaru Yar’Adua on the Niger Delta crisis as he seek to tackle the resurgent militancy in the oil-rich region.

The Buhari led government considers the gazette as one of the possible ways of tackling the renewed violence being orchestrated by the Niger Delta Avengers in the region,

A new militants group, the Niger Delta Avengers, has devastated the country’s oil production with a series of bombings of oil facilities in the area.

The concluding Amnesty programme for militants was the brainchild of the Yar’Adua’s administration. The programme helped in restoring relative peace in the area for over 6 years.

Reports from the Punch state Buhari is studying the document as a means of  to ensuring that all the agreements contained in the document were implemented by the Federal Government.

“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 said on Friday that 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 other stakeholders in the region to end 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.”