The
House of Representatives will soon meet with the service chiefs over the
continued crisis in the Niger Delta region.
Abdul Ningi, Chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on Niger
Delta, made the statement in Abuja on Thursday at a meeting with leaders of
some oil producing communities and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC).
Mr. Ningi said the meeting was aimed at reviewing the activities of the Joint
Military Task Force (JTF) in the region and finding a lasting solution to the
crisis in the area.
Apart from the meeting with the service chiefs, he said the committee
would visit the area to assess the level damage done by the
conflict.
The chairman said there was a need for other Nigerians to understand the
problems in the region, while the military should separate the militants from
civilians.
Mr. Ningi said the problem of resource control, underdevelopment, environmental
degradation, accountability and confidence and trust in the process would be
tackled by the House of Representatives.
Earlier, Alfred Bubor, National Chairman of the host communities, traced the
genesis of the current insecurity problem to May 14, 2009, when the JTF
attacked the area aerially with bombs.
Mr. Bubor, 76, said the whole area was devastated while he narrowly escaped
death with members of his household as the community was destroyed by the JTF.
He said the Niger Delta people were not happy with the degradation in the area
with no form of assistance or government intervention to remedy the situation.
The elder statesman appealed to the assembly to prevail on the government to
withdraw the JTF, while consultations with the federal government should
resume.
Also speaking, Felix Toudolor, the Chairman on Security and Community
Development of IYC stressed an urgent need to address
the problem of crime and violence in the region.
He said the council had come up with a road map to achieve a genuine resolution
of the crisis.
Mr. Toudolor said that granting amnesty to militants without fulfilling certain
conditions would be fruitless.
He said that a peaceful agreement and a national conference of all stakeholders
should be convoked before the implementation of the amnesty.