Give room for dialogue, senator appeals to MEND

Worried by the seeming ressurection of militancy in the Niger Delta region, the Vice-Chairman of Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, has appealed to the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta to embrace dialogue.
Dialogue, according to the youngest senator in the Seventh Senate, remains the best option for any conflict resolution.

Proposing a – “MULTI-STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT/ENGAGEMENT” to dialogue in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Michael Jegede, the vice-chairman, noted that the issue must be quickly addressed in the interest of the country.
He said: “All stake holders from government (Niger Delta Ministry/Niger Delta Development Commission/Amnesty Programme), militants (MEND & others), Oil &Gas companies/Multinationals) and ultimately the Nigerian people must collectively come together to the table to resolve this issue as it rears its ugly head again.
“All parties must be carried along and engaged objectively so that a lasting solution can be reached.”
The senator recalled that the agitations of the various groups in the Niger Delta Region, including MEND, resulted in the creation of the Niger Delta Ministry, the NDDC and the Amnesty Programme by the government, which have been largely responsible for the relative peace and stability in the region.
He said this “needs to be sustained and deepened for an enduring peace to reign specifically in the region and the nation at large.”