By Uche Mbah
There is panic over the threat of Niger Delta Militants to resume hostilities. The fear of such resumption is the effect it will have on the oil industry, and subsequently, Nigeria’s fragile economy, especially, in the era of the COVID-19.
In recent years, beginning from the Umaru Yar’adua administration, hostilities in the region brought the country’s economy to its knees, and the Federal Government was forced to negotiate in a bid to pull the economy from a complete collapse.
To find a solution to the recent threat, Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Mr Kinsley Otuaro, Delta State Deputy Governor, on Wednesday, met with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, over the threat, according to Agency reports.
During the time of Yar’adua, the President negotiated the ceasefire, though the then Vice president Goodluck Jonathan, who was on hand to personally negotiate with the Militants in the creeks.
According to Sylva, they went to discuss with Vice President Osinbajo how to resolve the issues, adding that the agitations are routine matters which would be addressed to avoid escalation.
“It is normal for me to consult with the Vice President from time to time; we had some notice of agitation from the Niger Delta.
“The vice president, of course, preempted everything by inviting the Deputy Governor of Delta State so that we can understand exactly what the issues are.
“These are routine issues; these are host community issues and when they come up, we have to deal with them early before they fester and become bigger problems.
“That is why the vice president invited the deputy governor of Delta State to look at the issues so that we can discuss and resolve them quickly before they become bigger issues,” he said.
The Deputy Governor of Delta state described the meeting as part of the process of normal consultations with host communities in the oil-producing environment.
“There are issues and we have agreed that immediately after Sallah, we will have a platform to sorting out some of these issues,” he said.
