President Umaru Yar’Adua on Thursday took his resolve to end the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta a step further by announcing amnesty for all militants in the region.
But the amnesty came with a proviso: It will cover only those who are ready to lay down their arms and ammunition.
Yar’Adua, who spoke at the National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja, added that the Federal Government would rehabilitate and integrate such militants into the society.
The National Security Council is expected to meet next week to work out the modalities for the amnesty.
The militants in the Niger Delta had in the past restricted their nefarious activities to blowing up pipelines and platforms, thereby partially disrupting crude oil production in the region.
They later extended their modus operandi by abducting and in some cases killing foreign and Nigerian oil workers in their contentious agitation for improved revenue allocation and sometimes for outright control of oil wealth in the region.
Among the notable militant leaders with an army of followers in the region include Mr. Henry Okah of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Alhaji Mujahidin Asari-Dokubo of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force and Mr. Ateke Tom of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement.
Asari-Dokubo was arraigned before an Abuja High Court on a five-count charge of treasonable felony, but was later granted bail on grounds of health after some governors in the Niger Delta had appealed to Yar‘Adua to release him.
But Okah is still standing a secret trial before Justice Stephen Adah of the Federal High Court in Jos on a 62-count charge of alleged treason, terrorism, kidnapping, illegal importation of arms and ammunition, possession and storage of prohibited goods and management of unlawful society.
Tom was last month indicted by the Justice Kayode Eso-led Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission for being behind the killings in some communities in the state.
Many other militants belong to the Reformed Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, the Martyrs Brigade and the Watchdog of the Niger Delta, whose leaders are largely unknown.
Yar’Adua also told the PDP NEC that the Federal Government was repositioning the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta to make it more effective at enforcing law and order.
He said, “On the Niger Delta, we are working on the wholistics of the development and implementation of the Niger Delta Master Plan.
“We have created the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to champion the overall wholistic development of the region. And this administration has been releasing full funds to the Niger Delta Development Commission.
“Also, we are funding a repositioned JTF to enforce law and order and we have worked out new rules of engagement for the force, giving it a period of six months.
“Also, we are working on terms for the granting of amnesty for all those who are ready to lay down their arms in the Niger Delta, and this amnesty will include not only to lay down their arms but also reintegrating them and rehabilitating them into the Nigerian society.
“Next week, the National Security Council will meet to deliberate and finalise this rule of engagement to grant amnesty to all those ready to lay down their arms and ammunition and be integrated to the Nigerian society.
“The government has released enough funds to the JTF to acquire in the proper capacity to be able to enforce law and order in the region.”
The President also spoke on the ongoing G-20 summit in London, the global economic meltdown and the need to improve on the state of roads in the country.
On the summit, Yar’Adua, who looked remorse, said he was sad that Nigeria was not part of the G-20.
He said that Nigeria had what it took to be among the best 20 world economies, adding that what was needed was the will.
Yar’Adua said, “I must say that today is a sad day for me. And I think it should be for all Nigerians when 20 leaders of the leading countries of the world are meeting and Nigeria is not there.
“This is something we need to reflect upon. We have the population, we have the potential. We have the capacity and ability. We have the population, we have the collective will. What do we lack? Is it the will that we lack?
“Honestly and sincerely to realise these potential, we have the capacity. Potential is nothing unless it is realised.
“No matter the potential you have, unless you work on it, it would not be realised. We must realise it and lead the nation to realise it. This is what PDP must do to realise these potential.”
On the global economic meltdown, the President urged Nigerians to brace up for hard times, saying that there was no hope that the crisis would end this year.
He said that though the meltdown did not start in Nigeria, nor any undeveloped country, but its implication had traversed the entire world.
The President said, “Indeed, as we are meeting today here, 20 leaders of the 20 most developed nations of the world are holding a meeting in London trying to work out a solution to the problem of global financial crisis and the global financial meltdown.
“This has affected this country and any other country throughout the world and the crisis is not a joke; it is real and it demands discipline and sacrifices for us to take measures to mitigate the effects of this crisis and ensure that the crisis does not degenerate in this country into a great hardship for our people and to ensure that Nigeria comes out of this crisis stronger than it has weaken it.
“I want to make a general comment not only to our great party but to all Nigerians – this crisis is real; it is not a joke. And its source is not from this country. Nigerian and other undeveloped countries did not cause it in any way.
“This crisis began in most developed economies – in the United States and Western Europe. And to a great extend some of the Asian economy.
“And it has spread throughout the world. We cannot see the end of this crisis within 2009; the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and all other institutions are saying that there is no solution in 2009.
“In fact, if the global effort is going to make impact at all, it may have to start somewhere, if we are very lucky in the year 2010.”
He also said that the government would announce the contract for the much-talked about road concessioning next week.
Contracts for the concessioning of the roads, which number he gave as eight, would be announced after the Federal Executive Council meeting next week.
Also speaking at the occasion, the National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, said that the major challenge facing the party was finance.
In order to ameliorate this, he said the party had distributed templates to all its state chairmen to list all elected and appointed persons in the PDP.
He warned that non-compliance with a section of the party’s constitution which states that public officers must contribute five per cent of their annual basic salary to the party would attract serious sanctions.
The meeting was attended by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan; the President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark; Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole; state governors, and other members of the NEC.
The Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Secretary, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, were absent.