Niger Delta Monarchs Meet FG, State Conditions For Peace

Ikechukwu Nnodim, Abuja
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.”