afrol News, 4 July - Peace talks scheduled for later this month on Niger Delta are believed would stop all acts of violence and criminality that have beleaguered edgy oil-rich region.

In a statement issued today, Nigerian presidential spokesman, Segun Adeniyi, notes that president Umaru Yar' Adua maintains that summit is necessary to obtain a firm and binding commitment from all stakeholders to end crisis which has turned Niger Delta into a no-go area.

According to Adeniyi, the president further believes that peace and security are essential preconditions for meaningful development of the region.

"One of the primary objectives of stakeholders summit is to evolve an across the board consensus and commitment from all concerned parties to end incessant violence in region and engender a much more conducive atmosphere for massive improvement of infrastructure and social services in region," Mr Adeniyi said.

He said most contractors mobilised to sites in Niger Delta after president Yar' Adua assumed office last year, have abandoned their projects because of insecurity and threats of violence in the area.

"Continual disruption of work by armed gangs, kidnappings of expatriate personnel and family members for ransom as well as necessity and cost of providing high level security cover for workers, sometimes involving deployment of troops, have today driven up cost of executing projects in Niger Delta by about 300 per cent with no guarantee of completion," he added.

Under these circumstances, the president is said to have deemed it absolutely necessary to engage all stakeholders in the region in meaningful and purposeful dialogue aimed at removing fundamental obstacles to the implementation of his administration's plans for Niger-Delta.

He reportedly said urgent resolution of developmental challenges of the region remains a very critical element of his administration's seven-point agenda, adding that much thought and effort have already gone into conception and planning of summit.

Armed groups who have stepped up kidnappings and sabotage in the region in the past two years are said to be increasingly targeting oil companies and their personnel.

Nigeria's daily oil production has been cut by about a quarter because of attacks and it was overtaken as Africa's largest producer by Angola in April, according to figures from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Reports indicate that government has been planning long-delayed event since Mr Yar'Adua came to power last year, though there are fears that the talks may not solve region's problems.

The appointment of Ibrahim Gambari, a Nigerian diplomat who was until recently UN envoy to Myanmar, to head the event has drawn criticism from those angry at some of his past utterances on issues related to the region.

Professor Gambari was specifically accused of defending the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmental activist from the Delta, who was hanged by dictatorial regime of General Sani Abacha.

He was also condemned for calling summit as a national phenomenon rather than something more directly related to people of region.

It was not clear if a replacement would be installed as chair before summit gets under way at a date that has still not been fixed.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole has said that House would continue to support Federal Government through enactment of relevant laws that would guarantee enduring peace, security and development in Niger Delta.

A statement by his special adviser on media affairs, Kayode Akinmade said Speaker made pledge while receiving members of National Working Committee of Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in his office.

Statement further shows that Mr Bankole said problem in Niger Delta region has assumed global dimensions, adding that every stakeholder in Nigeria must join hands in finding a lasting solution to it.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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