The NDA spokesman added: “The liberation of the Niger delta people has taken a new swing with the daily emergence of new groups all over the region”.
Advertisement
While reacting in a facebook post, the Senator representing Kaduna State described President Buhari as a fearless General. While no action was taken on the report for years, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a fast-track remediation process in June last year, a month after taking office following his election victory.
He also advocated dialogue as part of a comprehensive approach that should be adopted by the government to address the situation, saying force alone may not bring about a lasting solution to the Niger Delta issue. The area is mostly populated by Christians.
At the time, militants in the region said they wanted a better deal for their people who have suffered environmental degradation and economic dislocation because of oil production by some of the world’s leading firms.
A militant group that has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure urged other groups on Saturday not to attack soldiers or kidnap people. After the latest attacks, the fix works at Forcados terminal might take more than the earlier estimated three months’ time.
Last week, Mr. Buhari was scheduled to visit the petroleum-rich south region of the Delta to meet the leaders.
The group said the attack was carried out because Shell had refused to heed earlier warnings not to fix the pipeline, which was damaged in February and is still not back on stream.
As the safety conditions in Nigeria worsen, it seems foreign energy companies would leave the Delta soon.
They also warned oil companies from repairing destroyed pipelines.
In a press release, the group mentioned how the attacks adversely affected crude production in Nigeria that has declined to 800,000 barrels per day peaking from two million barrels.
The spokesperson said: “The total deferred production due to the attack is 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily”. Moreover, the frequency of the attacks increased in May, and the nation’s production is projected to fall further.
Shell’s Forcados crude oil has been under force majeure since February.
Advertisement
Experts said the violence showed little sign of abating, and would keep pressure on the Nigeria’s oil production and finances.
