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aharaReporters has learned that negotiations
between the Federal Government and
representatives of various groups in the Niger Delta
have come to a near standstill in a dispute over the
disbursement of N8 billion. President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration has been in negotiations with several Niger
Delta stakeholders to end the growing insecurity in the zone
where a new militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA),
has been bombing oil facilities.
Sources at the Presidency told SaharaReporters that a
number of “elders” from the Niger Delta area, who have
been represented in the talks as “major stakeholders,”
demanded N8 billion from the Buhari administration as a
condition for continuing with negotiations.
“The elders also demanded that the money should be given
directly by the Federal Government to them because they
said they don’t trust the governors of the Niger Delta States
to handle the funds,” one source said.
According to the source, Mr. Buhari was adamant that he
could not honor the elders’ demands. He said the president
stated that such a payment to a private group would violate
the Constitution. “Mr. President’s position is that there is
no legal mechanism in place that allows him to allocate any
sum of money directly to the elder group, bypassing State
governments. The elders have to change the constitution if
they want President Muhammadu Buhari to give them
money directly,” the source said.
President Buhari urged the elders to publicly protest against
the governors if they believed the state governors to be
corrupt and untrustworthy.
In the face of the stalemate in negotiations, President
Buhari is reportedly bent on escalating military options as a
way to curb the growing insecurity in the region.
Friday evening, security forces arrested more than 100
suspected militants from the Niger Delta area.
Over the last few months, members of the Niger Delta
Avengers have bombed numerous oil facilities belonging to
international oil companies in the Niger Delta region. The
militant group has demanded more crude oil revenues for
the oil-producing states, the release of militants who are
being detained or incarcerated, and continued funding of the
amnesty program for former militants. The group’s bomb
attacks on oil facilities have forced oil firms in the Delta
region to be on high alert, to take significant security
measures to protect their employees, and to cut down on oil
production.
Earlier this week, the United States State Department issued
a travel warning for American citizens in twenty Nigerian
states, including the entire states in the Niger Delta. The
State Department cited growing insecurity, the risk of
abduction and violent robbery as well as terrorism.



http://saharareporters.com/2016/08/06/insecurity-niger-delta-dispute-over-n8-billion-holds-negotiations

There is a legal framework
How about describing the payment as "hajj funds"
To think i supported this man

Just pay the damn money even if it's a proxy other than the state Governors... You need these negotiators or is it that you consider the process as a charade same way you did the National Conference?

Why demand for money instead of demanding for genuine infrastructural developments like world class schools and institution immediate construction of roads, good pipeborne water system and bridges to link up the swamps and remote villages...

After disbursing the 8 billion naira to them... the problem will still continue....

Next government will still face this same problematic and corrupt leaders....

Just want to make uncommon sense

Sources at the Presidency told SaharaReporters
that a number of “elders”
from the Niger Delta area,
who have
been represented in the talks as “major

stakeholders,”
demanded N8 billion
from the Buhari
administration as a
condition for continuing with negotiations.

“The elders also demanded that the money
should be given
directly by the Federal Government to them
because they
said they don’t trust the governors of the
Niger
Delta States
to handle the funds,”

Yet some people come here to blame the government for whatever the region is seen to be going through. Even they themselves think each other as thieves.

It is a shame honestly, but as long as oil remains the mainstay of our economy, this vicious cycle of creating violence and "negotiations/settlements" will continue! It has burgeoned into a lucrative industry and everyone in that region would cash in and cash out today, tomorrow, the day after, or in the nearest future.

There is no better indicator of the shameful failure of successive governments in Nigeria than our continuous dependence on crude exports for upkeep.

Too bad.