allAfrica.com: Nigeria: FG Drops Niger Delta Summit (Page 1 of 2)

Apparently due to the controversy generated by the planned Summit for the Niger Delta region, the Federal Government, together with stakeholders of the area, yesterday agreed to drop the talk show.

But in its place, a presidential committee is to be set up to aggregate and articulate the entire demands of the region as an alternative resolution mechanism. The committee will be constituted and its comprehensive needs be submitted to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who is expected back into the country today after a four-day visit to the United Kingdom.

This was the latest agreement reached after a meeting between the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and Niger Delta stakeholders.

Speaking after the meeting Wednesday night, the Vice President noted that discussion was still ongoing as the issues of the region could not be resolved overnight.

He noted that the word 'summit' had been dropped because of the perception of the people about the proposed summit, adding that the meeting was able to reach a consensus on the way forward for the region.

Explaining why the idea of the talk show had to be dropped, the Vice President said, "When you use the word 'summit', it is a problematic word now because the people feel that when you say 'summit', people will come from everywhere, different memos, sentiments, and they will say it is a jamboree. It is not really what they want. We will raise the issues, present it before the Federal Government and we will dialogue. Let's leave it at that point. We are not using the word 'summit'.

"Even the Federal Government, what we want is a discussion. Let us listen to the issues in the Niger Delta. Different people have different thinking about the Niger Delta. Some people think it is purely a security matter, some think it is purely an infrastructural matter, some think it is a political matter. Some think it is education; if you educate everybody and give skills to everybody.

"So, it is a complex thing. The committee will raise the fundamental issues. What we believe are the challenges and present it to the Federal Government and make recommendations on the way forward. So when the document is presented to the President, we will look at it and then move from there."

He lamented that the burning issues in the Niger Delta are not issues that could be resolved overnight. For this reason, he said he would still be meeting with various groups in the region.

"They are not issues you can solve overnight but the present administration is committed. The whole thing is growing like a cancer and it is going to consume everybody if nothing is done. That is why we are holding these various meetings. We must get to a point and move ahead.

"We cannot solve it overnight. That is what everybody must learn. If it was possible to solve it overnight, probably it would have been solved before some of us entered primary school.

"We have seen some mileage in terms of consensus on the way forward. That is the most important thing. We have agreed on how to move ahead with the Federal Government," the Vice President said.

He noted that the Wednesday meeting would not be the last as consultations with various groups will continue.

"I will continue to meet with different groups. I have a meeting with the governors after the National Economic Council meeting. But basically what we have agreed today is that if there are problems in the Niger Delta, what are these problems, what caused these problems, what is the way forward, the challenges, the issues? So we have agreed that a committee would be set up to raise these issues and then the issues would be presented to the President. Then the journey starts from there."

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, met with President Umaru Yar'Adua on Wednesday in London. The two leaders' discussions covered a wide range of bilateral issues, including ways to achieve long-term sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta region.

In a statement issued by the Second Secretary, Political, in the British High Commission, Abuja, Mr James McLaughlin, the UK acknowledged the Nigerian Government's commendable efforts to bring about peace and reconciliation in the Niger Delta. He said, the UK Government would work with the Nigerian Government to ensure oil production brings prosperity, including improved livelihood for the people of the Niger Delta.

The UK has offered to assist in providing "robust accounting systems" and security to reduce the 1.5 million barrels a day of oil production currently lost every day in Nigeria.

It will also work with the Nigerian Government to identify training and advisory support, which would help to improve Nigerian capability to provide security in the region."

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