Akpodoro noted that the first outcome of negotiating with the militants would be to push youths of other ethnic groups to take up arms against the government.
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Prior to the agreement temporarily ending the attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, the federal government had ordered the military to withdraw its troops, fighter jets and battleships that had been deployed in the region to flush out the militants. Crude sales make up about 70 percent of national income and the vast majority of that oil comes from the southern swampland.
A ministry official who spoke on anonymity said that it was very hard getting the Niger Delta Avengers to talk but after series of efforts, it is beginning to pay off. A second government official confirmed that a truce was agreed.
AN Ijaw leader and sustainable development strategist, Greg Afoegba, has told the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachukwu, to thread softly as he could be trapped in the dirty waters of Niger Delta militancy over his hasty approach to negotiate with them.
The report originated in the Lagos-based newspaper ThisDay and said a 30-day ceasefire with Niger Delta Avengers was agreed to enable the President to come up with plans to develop energy resources.
A Nigeria-based security expert, who did not want to be named, said he did not believe the government has been holding talks with the right people.
Instead, he appealed to Kachikwu to seek advice from his counterparts especially Rotimi Amaechi, who he said knew the militants’ traits and gimmicks and would never fall for it having dealt with them as a former governor. By OPEC’s estimates, militant activity has pushed Nigerian crude oil production to its lowest level in more than a decade.
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“We once again, restate that we are not going to be part of any dialogue and peace that will achieve only “the peace of our time”, it added.
