The Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has expressed grave concern and disappointment over the recent pipeline attacks by militants in the Niger Delta region. Three attacks have taken place over the last two weeks, even with the ongoing efforts to prepare the grounds for dialogue.
A statement issued by Mr. Idang Alibi, Director of Press and Public Relations, said the Honorable Minister was saddened ”that despite months of intensive personal and collective efforts to engage all stakeholders in the region and despite the recent success in convening a meeting with His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari to begin exploring the opportunities for deepening the dialogue, these attacks have continued.”
Kachikwu condemned the wanton attacks and reiterated that ”the path to providing lasting solutions for the Niger Delta challenges remains dialogue.”
According to the statement, he further appealed and enjoined all interested stakeholders in the Niger Delta to embrace the path of peace and dialogue and shun acts that further create difficulties for the country, impoverish the region and worsen the ecological problems of the region. He urged all militants to stop and give the ensuing dialogue a chance to birth peace in the region.
Dr Kachikwu further appealed to all leaders and stakeholders in and outside the region ”to join hands with the government to find a lasting solution to this problem. As distraught as he and most ministers from the Niger Delta region are with these unfortunate incidents, they shall not give up, but will continue to work under the mandate of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari to see how to deepen the engagement and get a complete stakeholder buy-in to the solution programme of the President.”
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