The Niger Delta
Avengers have pledged to lay down their weapons and resume talks with the
Nigerian government after months of attacks on the country’s oil and gas infrastructure
that have crippled the economy.
In a message
posted on the group’s website late on Saturday, the NDA said it would “observe
a cessation of hostilities” in the Niger delta and would support any effort to
negotiate with “the federal government of Nigeria, representatives from the
home countries of all multinational oil corporations and neutral international
mediators.”
“We will give our
Niger Delta elders and genuine stakeholders that tacit support to the dialogue
table with the government and the Multinational oil Corporations whenever the
enabling environment prevails,” said Mudoch Agbinibo, the spokesman for
Avengers.
The group,
however, said it would only a negotiation team put in place by a Niger Delta
elder, Edwin Clark, with the aim of “achieving the short, medium and long-term
frameworks and objectives to de-escalating conflicts in the Niger Delta.”
“Most of the
frameworks and objectives are clearly stated in various reports, declarations
and recommendations of the likes of the Sir Henry Willinks minority rights
reports of pre-independence Nigeria (1957-8), The Kaiama Declaration document,
The General Alexander Ogomudia report, The Leedum Mittee headed Niger Delta
Technical Committee report and restructuring to fiscal federalism,” Agbinibo said.
But the NDA warned
that it would resume hostilities if “the Nigerian government and the
ruling political APC continues to use security agencies/agents, formations and
politicians to arrest, intimidate, invade and harass innocent citizens,
suspected NDA members and invade especially Ijaw communities.”
Since the start of
the year, the NDA has carried out a string of devastating attacks on Nigeria’s
oil pipelines and facilities.
Oil majors
including Shell, Exxon, Chevron, Eni and the state-run oil group NNPC have all
been targeted this year.
The attacks have
reduced Nigeria’s output by a third, hammering government revenue at a time of
low global oil prices.
The oil sector
accounts for 90 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and 70
percent of government revenue.
The NDA has
claimed to seek a fairer share of Nigeria’s oil wealth for residents of the
region as well as self-determination and political autonomy.
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