Nigeria’s president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, held a meeting, on Saturday night, with the negotiators of the main Niger Delta militant group; the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Mr. Yar’Adua met with the Aaron Team, appointed by the militant group to hold negotiations with the federal government on the amnesty deal.

Details of the meeting are yet to emerge but the president’s spokesperson,Segun Adeniyi, said “the meeting went very well.”

The group’s spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, confirmed that “a formal first meeting between the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the MEND Aaron team took place on Saturday, November 14, 2009 in Abuja, Nigeria.”

He stated that “the parley which lasted for over two hours was frank, cordial and useful.” According to MEND “the meeting heralds the beginning of serious, meaningful dialogue between MEND and the Nigerian government to deal with and resolve root issues that have long been swept under the carpet.

The Aaron Team comprises Mike Okhai Akhigbe (Rtd Vice admiral), Luke Kakadu Aprezi (Rtd Major General), Wole Soyinka and Amagbe Denzel Kentebe, who were all present for the meeting.

While Farah Dagogo, a former overall field commander of the movement and Henry Okah attended the meeting as observers.

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