Militants withdraw quit notice deadline, vow not to attack Oil and Gas pipelines

A coalition of  Niger Delta Militants have retracted their initial plans to commence the destruction of oil and gas pipelines within the region.

After series of closed door meetings with the Federal Government on Thursday, the group stated that they have withdrawn the quit notice issued to the Yoruba and Northern indigenes resident in the region.

Besides, they also noted that their loyalty would be with the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), in a bid to ensure rapid growth and development in the Niger Delta.

“After a series of meetings yesterday (Wednesday) between the high command of the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators led by General John Duku and the leadership of the Nigeria Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders Forum (NENYLF) led by the Acting National Chairman, Comrade Imoh Okoko, coupled with the intervention of Pan
Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators, which comprises over 250 groups with their leaders and representatives present at yesterday’s meeting, officially withdraw our quit notice issued to the Northerners and Yorubas living in Niger Delta region; call off planned resumption of attacks on oil and gas installations across the Niger Delta region and beyond from September 10, 2017; suspend the October 1, 2017 declaration of the Niger Delta Republic; declare support for the Pan Niger Delta Forum.

“We have also resolved to work with PANDEF and give it our maximum support and we urge the federal government to continue a dialogue and implement the 16-point demand presented by PANDEF on behalf of the Niger Delta region.

This comes after extensive consultations across the Niger Delta region, which we discovered that it is only PANDEF that has been working round the clock to resolve the Niger Delta issues and has people of proven integrity.

It is a clear fact that working with any rival group such as the Pan Niger Delta Congress (PNDC) is not in the interest of the Niger Delta.

The meeting also resolved that the oil and gas companies should relocate their headquarters to Niger Delta region. We also resolved to put on hold the issue of the return of oil blocks owned by Northerners and the Yoruba to the Niger Delta people and demand that the NNPC should revisit their recent appointments, and urge the federal government to replace the GMD of NNPC with an indigene of the Niger Delta in the interest of peace, equity, fairness, and justice.

We also thank the Nigeria Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders Forum and the Pan Niger Delta Forum for the major roles they played during the series of meetings which resulted in our withdrawal of the quit notice and we, therefore, agree that from now on the Nigeria Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders Forum should be our representatives, mediators and contact point.

We mandate them to liaise with the oil, gas, marine and service companies operating in Niger Delta region. We also use this medium to declare total support for the current board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and we warn all groups calling for the removal of the MD, Mr. Nsima Ekere, to desist from it as such a plan is evil and detrimental to the development of the Niger Delta region.

We, therefore, appeal to the federal government to release funds owed the NDDC for the
development and sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta region. The NDDC has a major role to play in sustaining peace in the Niger Delta region.

Finally, we call on all our partners, groups within and outside the Niger Delta region, as
well as all the agitating groups in the Niger Delta region to support PANDEF and give them all the needed support to enable them to continue to dialogue with the federal government, in order to move the Niger Delta forward.

Meanwhile, we wish to appeal to the Pan Niger Delta Congress to work with PANDEF for the interest of the Niger Delta region and we want to assure all the indigenes of Niger Delta and the general public that while we await the outcome of the dialogue between PANDEF and the Nigerian government, we shall not fail to respond to any issue that may threaten the collective well-being of the Niger Delta people.”