Govt sets up Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee
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Jul 3, 2007, 12:10

Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, on July 2 in Port Harcourt, inaugurated the Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee.

The committee has the following terms of reference:

• recommend to the Federal Government how to adequately address issues of the Niger Delta, and
•liaise with the groups in the Niger Delta region, security agencies and report to the Federal Government

Commenting on the militancy in the region, Vice President Jonathan, "This activity is impacting on all aspects of our economy. Most of the private companies are moving to Lagos and elsewhere and if this trend continues, then the whole economy of the Niger Delta will be destroyed.

"For everybody to come together to resolve the crisis in the Niger Delta, to solve our problem and see how the area will be repositioned for economic growth and for human and infrastructural development, then there must be a cease-fire. We are using this opportunity to plead with our youths that they have made a case".

Highlighting the development needs of the Niger Delta people, Jonathan said their cries had reached a point where the government has taken notice of it.

The committee is chaired by Senator David Brigidi and has Kingsley Kuku as secretary. Its membership is made up of two persons representing each state, four from the oil firms, and one each from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The terms of reference of the committee would be reviewed every 12 months based on the progress made.

All the six governors in the South-South geo-political zone attended the committee inauguration.

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