Community leaders urge militants to engage in peace talk with government

Niger Delta militants have been urged by community leaders not to resume attacks on pipelines but give the government another chance to entertain dialogue.

The Niger Delta Avengers group last week threatened to resume its targeting of oil and gas infrastructure that in 2016 led to a slump in output that helped tip Nigeria into recession.

But Edwin Clark, the head of the Pan Niger Delta Forum set up last year to chart a way forward with the government, said they should be patient.

The government may have so far failed to act on a list of 16 recommendations to revive the region “but we… are not expecting that everything will be done in one year”, he added.

“We are therefore appealing to the people of PANDEF and the people of Niger Delta that the Niger Delta Avengers… should reconsider their decision to resume hostilities,” he said.

“Let us give the federal government another chance. ”

Source: ( Punch Newspaper)