Nigerians have reacted variedly to President Umaru Yar'Adua's offer of amnesty to the Niger Delta militants to usher n peace and fast-track the development of the region.

Yar'Adua had on April 2, extended the olive branch to the youth of the Niger Delta who have taken up arms to demand accelerated development of the area and increased revenue allocation by the Federal Government.

The amnesty offer comes on the heels of the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, headed by Ufot Ekaette, while the government is expected to issue a white paper soon on the report of the Ledum Mitee-led Technical Committee on the Niger Delta.

However, in a nationwide survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria, the citizens expressed divergent opinions on the extension of amnesty to the militants.

For Prof. Joash Amupitan, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Jos, a violent approach to the Niger Delta issue will not achieve the desired results.

Amupitan told NAN that the militants were bona fide Nigerians who should be wooed by government to renounce their militancy.

He explained that any military action against the militants could be misconstrued to mean that government was declaring a war on its citizens.

Another respondent in Jos, Stephen Moses, said that economically, the emergence of the militants had been a clog in the nation's collective goal of getting more money from oil sales.

He lauded Yar'Adua for his wisdom in extending the olive branch to the militants, noting that since the delta was the 'golden hen' in the national economy, engaging the militants in a dialogue was appropriate and in the overall interest of Nigerians.