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The Federal Government yesterday ordered the immediate withdrawal of troops from communities in the Niger Delta region, following allegations of a heavy-handed military response to renewed attacks on oil and gas installations in the area.The government said it was withdrawing troops immediately, however, soldiers will continue to patrol the waterways.
Following the incessant attacks on pipelines and oil facilities in the Niger Delta by the new militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday held a close-door meeting with eight governors of oil producing states, service chiefs and ministers.
The activities of the militants have almost plunged the nation into economic crises as the country can no longer meet its crude production quota.
The latest threat came from a new group named Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force which alerted that it would launch missiles against major government formations across the country.
The group had alerted that it planned to blow up the Presidential Villa, Police and Military headquarters and other important government formations across the country yesterday.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting, Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, said they deliberated on how to tackle the challenges of insecurity posed by the upsurge in militants’ activities in the Niger Delta.
He said "We governors of the oil producing states, security chiefs and ministers who are concerned met with the Vice President and I believe we had a very fruitful meeting.
"One thing we identified which is the synergy between the Federal Government and the States which is very important and this meeting has raised a lot of issues and we believe that the collaboration will help us to tackle the issues in the Niger Delta.
"Of course we were briefed by the service chiefs and the governors also have their own perspectives along with the minister of state petroleum. We have taken a lot of decisions which will help us mitigate what is going on currently in the states particularly Bayelsa and Delta. We believe we are going to find solution to it.
"One of such is that there is a need for us to share intelligence which is very important and for us to be proactive, working together with the various stakeholders in the states to achieve a better result going forward.
"We have also agreed that there is a need to distill military operations by helping communities where the military need to actually remain on our waterways to ensure that we adequately man the waterways itself while we engage the communities and that engagement will start any moment from now."
He said the decision reached at the meeting would be implemented immediately just as he hinted that the governors would continue to collaborate with one another even as they return to their various states.
At the meeting were governors Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); Segun Mimiko (Ondo); Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and deputy governor of Cross River State.
There were also the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu; Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin and the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Airforce, who briefed the governors and the Vice-President on ongoing military operations to curb the activities of the militants
The Edo state governor, Mr. Oshiomhole, told journalists that Nigeria was not at war as the government was ready to address the conflict.
Recall that the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, had on Monday announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed a two-week cessation of military offensive in the Niger Delta region, to enable the government dialogue with the militants.
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