Daily Independent (Lagos)
Paul Arhewe, Adeola Yusuf and David Agba With Agency Report
16 September 2009
Resumption of attacks on oil facilities was put on ice by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) on Tuesday; rather, it said it would announce today whether to call off or extend its self-imposed ceasefire to allow for peace talks.
A delegation from Abuja, led by Defence Minister, Godwin Abbe, had met with militant leaders on Sunday and urged them to persuade the MEND to extend the ceasefire for at least another month.
"We will be making our decision public after midnight tonight," MEND spokesman told Reuters by email on Tuesday.
The MEND had said on Monday that the deadline could only be pushed back with the approval of its leader, Henry Okah, who agreed in July to accept amnesty after gun running and treason charges against him were dropped and he was freed.
The amnesty expires on October 4, but militant leaders Ateke Tom and Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) have implored Abuja to extend it by three months to allow for dialogue on a series of demands, including a military withdrawal from the Niger Delta.
Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta, Timi Alaibe, expressed confidence on Tuesday that Ateke and Tompolo would soon hand over their weapons in return for clemency.
He said his meeting with them on Sunday was "very fruitful" as they "indicated they are 100 per cent for the amnesty programme, that they wholly accept it, but they have also made some requests to President Umaru Yar'Adua."
Vanguard
Niger Delta militants.
Alaibe said the number of militants "who have come to be processed is about 6,000 and over 3,000 have been documented."
Abbe disclosed on Tuesday that "efforts are on to identify those behind oil bunkering and when they are caught, they are going to be treated as enemies of the state.
"Also, international assessors who use our zone to perpetrate nefarious activities of illegal bunkering, piracy, and smuggling will soon learn a bitter lesson."
He spoke at the inauguration of Course 18 of the National Defence College (NDC) in Abuja, just as Minister of State for Finance, Remi Babalola, announced that Nigeria last month lost N87 billion as a result of militant attacks on facilities owned by Chevron, ELF, and Agip.
He told reporters after a meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) still owes the FAAC N450 billion which would be retrieved at the appropriate time.
Babalola explained that a total N346.240 billion was shared for August by the three tiers of government; revenue was N199,132 billion, a decrease of N60,135 billion or 23.19 per cent compared with July.
The Federal Government got N96.914 billion, states N49.156 billion, and councils N37.897 billion. Oil producing states shared an extra N15.165 billion.
Value Added Tax (VAT) brought in N38.82 billion, against N44.72 billion in July.
The Federal Government received N5.823 billion from the VAT, states N19.411 billion, and councils N23.588 billion.
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Miraclenigeria, thanks for your prayers and concern, but we have to meet God half way, I believe you are aware of the saying 'heaven helps those who help themselves' Nigeria has too much injustices sewn into the body politic, if these are resolved in gone time, the 'failed state' prophesy will come to pass
By this action, MEND has, yet again, demonstrated tremendous forbearance that are not been reciprocated by this irresponsible junta pretending to be a democracy that is even worse than Abacha military regime. But every forbearance has an expiration date. Are you still expecting miracles? From whom? Definitely not from God because He is fed up with Nigerians and their culture of “Sidon look” and “God save us” mantra. Give me a break! For so long, the Nigerian public has imbibed the (Things Fall Apart) "Okonkwo Paradox" not to rock the boat, all in the name of unity, as a tiny cabal continues to walk all over them and dare them to do something about it, or else what? We need to know what that what is and now is the time we call their bluff and do something about it. Even the so called foreign partners that are making sinful bloody money selling arms to this highly corrupt and insensitive administration are wondering how Nigerian masses’ resiliency can take such abuse as they joke about our “Happiest People” caricature despite the amount of stupendous suffering they observe all over the country. If not now, when? If you still don’t get it, please go back to read Dickens “Tale of Two Cities” if the French Revolution is too tough for you to comprehend – even animals that are normally afraid of human will eventually bite back if cornered with no escape route. Are the Nigerian common folks stupider than animals? If we don’t seize the moment now then we deserved to be enslaved forever.
@ Miraclenigeria, what is good about the ‘more of the same’ politics which we are experiencing. The crisis is only being kicked to the touchline to be revisited another day. The basic issues have not been addressed – we need a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to discuss many issues too numerous to enumerate here. It is clear that our parliamentarians are too busy ‘sharing the money’ for such innate matters to be of interest to them.
Also, Mr / Mrs Miraclenigeria, no one is talking about a break up. That may only become necessary if there is a collective failure (at the SNC) to find common ground for our continued unity. With your aspiration to unity over equity and justice, I wonder if you prefer to be a ‘well fed slave’ than to be ‘broke’ but ‘free’. I for one know that I prefer to die a thousand times over than to accept slavery in any form.
Finally, we all aspire to have good leadership so that we can begin to realise at the very least some of our immense potential, but please; leave God out of the equation. This is a major part of the problem with Nigerians. This obsession that God will come and solve the problem for us is mad. God has far more important things to do than to help people who would not help themselves. Existentialist commonsense tells us that we are on our own. This is our problem and we must be the ones to solve it. And we must begin by telling the so called elite that enough is enough. Take control of your life, leave God out of it!
Good news. Nigerian will not fight another civil war. Nigerians should not to be deceived into break-up and crisis. Nothing is beyond remedy. The press and the elites should come together and speak against threats to our unity as a nation. Each region of Nigeria have something to offer which the others need. We can highlight our good aspects and play down the negatives. One day soon, the dynamic leadership we desire shall be installed by God to heal the ills which plague our Nation- someday soon.