The Nigerian government
has expressed its
commitment to dialogue with
militants in the Niger Delta.
The Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation, Babachir Lawal,
said on Saturday that the
presence of soldiers in the
region does not mean the
government was opposed to
dialogue.
Speaking specifically about
the Niger Delta Avengers,
whose recent activities have
caused a decline in Nigeria’s
oil and power output, Mr.
Lawal said the group needed
to identify its
representatives for a
dialogue.
“Government is not averse
to discussing with them
(militants) but we need to
know who is in charge and
who we can discuss with
meaningfully; that’s the
dilemma of the government at
the moment”, he said.
“There are so many groups
making it difficult to know
who to talk to and the level
of control that group will
bring to the process.”
He appealed to leaders of
Niger Delta communities to
intervene by calling the
militants to order, pointing
out that the activities of the
militants were more inimical to
the region than other parts
of the country.
“When they blow up oil
pipelines, the spill destroys
their water and lands, a
development that will take
years to recover. They are
more victims than the rest of
Nigerians,” he said.
Mr. Lawal said the activities
of the militants, which he
described as “pure act of
sabotage,” had seriously
affected the nation’s crude
oil export and energy
supply”.
Nigeria’s power generation
dropped by over half while
crude production declined
about a third mainly due to
sabotage by the Niger Delta
Avengers.
The group this weekend
announced some of its recent
sabotage of pipelines in Delta
State.
It said it bombed an NNPC
pipeline conveying crude to
Warri refinery in Delta State
on Friday night.
Between Saturday night and
early Sunday morning, the
group announced four more
attacks against oil facilities.
“At 11:26 p.m. on Saturday, @
Niger Delta Avengers blow up (sic)
two NPDC major crude trunk
lines close to Batan Flow
Station in Delta State.
“At 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, @
Niger Delta Avengers blow (sic) up
two major Chevron oil wells.
Well 7 and Well 8 close to
Abiteye Flow Station in Delta
State,” the group said in
tweets posted on its Twitter
handle.
The group has rejected
dialogue with the government
and is demanding resource
control for the Niger Delta.

“When they blow up oil
pipelines, the spill destroys
their water and lands, a
development that will take
years to recover. They are
more victims than the rest of
Nigerians,” he said.

iflywithbuhari:
Which discussion. They have already given you their demands, you either accept them or suffer the consequences