When Nigerians woke up, last Monday, to find that Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, had bombed about five oil facilities belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, and Nigeria National Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, they were aghast, as there was supposed to be a ceasefire in the Niger Delta.
The incidents occurred between July 1- 4, but when the militant group claimed to be blown up yet again blew up an NPDC manifold, close to Batan, and two NNPC/PPMC crude oil trunk lines, also in Delta State, on Tuesday, it was palpable that there was fire on the mountain.
Since then, the NDA and other militant groups have, according to them, intensified bombings in the region, blowing up NNPC pipeline in Eleme, Rivers State, on Wednesday, another three Chevron manifolds at Diogbolo, Dibi Oil Field, Warri North Local Government Area in Delta State, on Thursday, and Nembe 1, 2 and 3 crude trunk lines in Bayelsa and Rivers states on Friday.
President’s changing tone The militant group did not give reason for the resumption of hostilities, but President Muhammadu Buhari, in his first major statement after the renewed bombings, while receiving some eminent Nigerians, mostly Muslims, who paid him sallah homage, insisted the Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable. He said:
“We have to concentrate on the militants to try to know how many of them, in terms of groupings, try to get in touch with their leadership to try to persuade them to please give Nigeria a chance. “I assure them that when were very junior officers, we were told by the Head of State, who was General Gowon, that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done, we never thought of oil. “What we were after is one Nigeria.
Please, pass the message to the militants that one Nigeria is not negotiable. And I pray they better accept it. The constitution is very clear as to what they should get and I assure them that there would be justice”.
His mien, July 6, was different from his tone 12 days earlier, June 24, at a dinner with leaders and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the Presidential Villa, where he pleaded with the Niger Delta militants in the name of God to reconsider their destruction of oil and gas installations. Dashed hope The NDA and other militant groups were said to have waited patiently for the President, who just returned to the country from his medical trip in London, to point the way forward two days after the expiration of the two-week ceasefire declared by government, June 6.
Nevertheless, he remained taciturn. The expectation of many was that Buhari would make definite declarations on the peace talks, given that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwku, who undertook a preliminary tour of the region and met with some stakeholders to prepare grounds for the jaw-jaw, would have briefed him on his trouble-shooting mission. However, the President chose to remain silent on the critical matter.
The NDA, during the period, urged him to call a referendum for Nigerians to decide if they would continue to stay together, just like his counterpart in Britain, David Cameron, did. Unsolicited invitation
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/buhari-dumped-dialogue-n-delta-militants/
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