To avert this fresh economic crisis, the Federal Government has been advised to dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and restructure the country.
The Chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Joint National Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, Chika Onuegbu, observed that if the militants carry out fresh attacks, the country could relapse into recession.
“The threat if carried out, will be very disastrous for the economy. If you look at the President’s budget speech that explained our recovery from recession, you will see the role played by oil, based on the fact that production has been relatively stable, as a result of the understanding reached with the people of the Niger Delta.
“If the militants renege on that and begin to attack oil installations, it means that oil and gas production and revenue of the country and the investors’ confidence will be impacted, and all these will take the country back to recession”, he said.
Onuegbu urged the Federal Government and the militants to continue their engagement, in the interest of peace and the well-being of the people of the country.
A member of the last National Conference and Founder of Agape Rights, Ann Kio-Briggs, said it would be unwise to ignore or not to take the militants’ threat seriously.
“If you say you will not take them seriously, and you ignore the threat and something happens, then it will affect the economy and the environment.
“If it will affect the economy, it will be foolish for any government to ignore anything that will threaten the economy”, she said.
According to Kio-Briggs, the solution to the threat is not the mass deployment of troops in the Niger Delta by the Federal Government, but to address the demands of the region, instead of resorting to a show of force that might further aggravate the situation.
“I think the Federal Government must accept that there are issues in the Niger Delta that people want to be addressed. The government’s attitude to the Niger Delta is violent. It is violent to deny people equity and justice. It is violent to deny people the space to express themselves.
“The crisis in the Niger Delta, the agitation, anger and frustration of the people should be taken seriously, and must be priority of this government. People feel highly aggrieved; they want the country to be restructured.
“It is not true that Nigeria cannot be restructured. The issue of collecting 100 percent of oil revenue and giving 13 percent to the Niger Delta, is no longer an acceptable and viable option”, she said.
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