President
Muhamadu Buhari has fired a warning to the aggrieved groups in the oil
rich Niger Delta, saying that peace is critical to the development of
the region.
President
Muhammadu Buhari (6th r) Vice-President Yemii Osinbajo (6th l) Gov.
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State (4th r) Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa (3rd
r) with Traditional Rulers and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta
during at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday
Speaking on Tuesday at the Aso Rock villa in Abuja while holding a
high-level meeting with leaders and other stakeholders from the oil rich
Niger Delta region, President Muhamadu Buhari, disclosed that peace is
critical to the development of region, and therefore called for a
collective approach in solving the issue of militancy in the region.
According to a report by Vanguard,
the president said it was imperative for the leaders to unite and seek
ways of ending the militancy and the sabotage of oil infrastructure in
the zone, adding that anyone who had another country apart from Nigeria
was free to leave the country.
He expressed the determination of his administration to stay
focused on its key campaign promises of securing the country, fighting
corruption and creating jobs through the improvement of the economy.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu,
stated that the president listed peace, security, investment and
prosperity as close linked together, adding that 'if we give peace a chance, investors will come here to invest.'
Nobody will invest in an insecure environment. “We are
determined to make life comfortable and affordable to all Nigerians. If
anybody has a country to go to, let him go, we will stay here and
salvage our country.”
In welcoming the 16-point request presented for negotiation
by the Niger Delta leaders, President Buhari said he was still
expecting reports from officials he had instructed to review the
implementation of the Amnesty program to determine where government fell
short so that amends can be made.
The president said the service chiefs were putting together their own assessment of the militancy situation, saying “when
I have these reports, including this one (just presented), we will
revisit the situation (in the region) to ensure that we succeed this
time.”
He however cautioned the leaders of the Delta that they had more to
do than anyone else to bring peace to the region, given the influence
they have on militant groups.
The President who delivered his report card on the war against
corruption and the efforts to secure the country repeated his call to
the Niger Delta leaders to join the administration in bringing peace to
the troubled region.
“Please Your Excellencies, Your Majesties, Distinguished ladies
and gentlemen; we all have our individual constituencies. Let us try to
pacify our constituencies. Let us first recover our country, secure the
country and let us invite people who will invest. Let us create jobs
for our people and let us be accountable to our people where we are
sitting on treasuries, whether it is local government, state or the
center.
"We should ensure that we rebuild this country. Nobody wants to
fail. So, the only way out is, if people understand and believe that we
are doing our best at all levels, then we will have some peace. But it
they have reason to doubt our performance and sincerity, then we will
have problem,” he said.
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