Pipline Bombing Will Not Stop The Ongoing Peace Dialogue – Kachikwu
The Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has expressed his grave concern and disappointment in the recent pipeline attacks by militants in the Niger Delta region. Three attacks have taken place over the last two weeks even whilst efforts were ongoing to prepare the grounds for dialogue.
The Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources is saddened that despite months of intensive personal and collective efforts to engage all stakeholders in the region and despite the recent success in convening a meeting with His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, to begin exploring the opportunities for deepening the dialogue, the attacks have continued.
He condemned thewanton attacks and reiterates that the path to providing lasting solutions for the Niger Delta challenges remains dialogue. He further appealed and enjoined all interested stakeholders in the Niger Delta to embrace the path of peace and dialogue and shun acts that further create difficulties for the country, impoverish the region and worsen the ecological problems of the region.
He urged all militants to stop and give the ensuing dialogue a chance to birth peace in the region.
He also appealed to all leaders and stakeholders in and outside the region to join hands with the government to find a lasting solution to the problem.
According to him, as distraught as he and most ministers from the Niger Delta region are with these unfortunate incidents, they would not give up, but will continue to work under the mandate of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari to see how to deepen the engagement and get a complete stakeholder buy-in to the solution programme of the President.
