Nigerian
Vice President assures on quick end to Niger Delta conflict
Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the visiting
Prime Minister of France, Mr Francois Fillon, in Abuja at the
weekend that the Niger Delta crisis will be resolved soon.
The French government seeks to seal a gas partnership with the
Nigerian government. Peace in the restive Niger Delta regions is
crucial to the deal. [The Niger Delta Crisis: Beyond the Price of
Crude Oil: By Pat Utomi
http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=166 ].
Jonathan said government’s military action in the area was borne out
of the need to checkmate increasing cases of criminality and growing
sense of insecurity. Kidnappings and murders have become rampant
with criminal elements asking for ransome to free their victims.
``Government has no intention to punish anybody but to integrate or
re-integrate all folks within the region, whether they are militants
or the youth. I know that the Niger Delta is an area that is
disturbing to any country doing business with Nigeria, especially in
the oil sector. But I can assure you that government is working very
hard to bring this perceived hostility in the region under
control,’’ Jonathan told his guest.
Government is eager to address the genuine agitation of the people
of Niger Delta started as infrastructure development, wealth
creation and capacity development by oil companies but it is not
about to negotiate its sovereignty and the sanctity of the Nigerian
sate to the “armed struggle since 2006, that crept into the
agitation and assumed a dimension that, sometimes, becomes difficult
to control .’’
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