19 June 2009
Lagos — Yesterday's special meeting summoned by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on the Niger Delta crisis ended with a decision that he should meet with the National Council of State next Thursday for deliberations.
The meeting was called to discuss the terms of the amnesty offered to militants as well as unfold his agenda for security and development in the oil-producing region.
Members of the Council of State are the President, Vice-President, former heads of state, National Assembly leadership, present and past Chief Justices of the Federation and governors.
The meeting, which an inside source said was very heated based on some of the recommendations of the Godwin Abbe Presidential Committee on Amnesty and Disarmament for Militants in the Niger Delta, also resolved to make public next Thursday the terms and conditions of the amnesty promised militants who drop their arms in the quest of peace by the Federal Government.
A legal document will also be signed by the President.
President Yar'Adua had last Monday promised to make public the terms and conditions of the amnesty to militants and their members who drop their arms and embrace peace.
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the three and a half meeting yesterday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Olusegun Adeniyi said the terms of the amnesty would be made public after an endorsement by the National Council of State.
"After deliberations, it was decided that the President will hold meeting with the Council of State next week Thursday after which the proclamation of the amnesty will be announced the same day," he said.
In attendance were the Speaker of the House of Representative, the Deputy Senate President, governors of Ondo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa (Deputy), and Akwa Ibom (Deputy), service chiefs, Minister of Defence and the Minister of Interior who is the chairman of the amnesty committee.
Asked on the outcome of the meeting, Adeniyi said: "That is what the President will reveal next week Thursday after the Council of State meeting."
He said great input was received "from the governors, service chiefs, ministers and the discussions were very revealing. The President benefited from the experience of some of the governors in the Niger Delta".
Asked what form the amnesty would take, Adeniyi said: "I think there is going to be an address by the President and then there will be a legal document in which the President will sign."
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