Investigation of the fire that consumed an oil vessel in Port Harcourt last Friday showed it was an accident, according to Information and Communications Minister, John Odey.
The fire occurred as a result of “technical defect, which was noticed earlier in the vessel,” he explained in a statement at the weekend.
The incident, Odey stressed, had nothing to do with protesting youths in the Niger Delta, “and therefore no one should claim any responsibility for the fire.”
He assured Nigerians and “true friends of the country” that no effort shall be spared towards safeguarding life and property nationwide.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had claimed responsibility for the incident, which came a few days after a vessel was attacked on the Bonny River.
They issued a second statement claiming the attack which reads in full:
“Subject: PH Oil Tanker Explosion
January 13, 2008.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) re-confirms that the explosion which occurred on board the oil tanker vessel on Friday, January 11, 2008 was detonated remotely from explosives planted in the ship by operatives of MEND.
The Federal Government of Nigeria in attributing the explosion to a �marine accident� is deliberately misleading the public and the international community into having a false sense of security which the government has not been able to provide in the Niger Delta region.
As in the tanker explosion, we always try to avoid civilian casualties by timing the explosion. This will not be the case with military targets and advice residents to avoid them.
Jomo Gbomo”
Despite the assurances given by Odey, the Action Congress (AC) on Sunday expressed concern over the worsening crisis in the Niger Delta, and demanded a new thinking and urgent action to quell the riots.
A statement issued in Abuja by AC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said fresh threats by militants to scale up the conflict and the tough talk by the military to counter them could trigger further insurgency that could throw Nigeria into a deep political, social, and economic quagmire.
That made House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, to appeal to the youth in the Niger Delta to embrace peace, since no genuine development can be achieved through violence.
A statement he issued through his Media Adviser, Kayode Akinmade, noted that the situation requires urgent attention, but cautioned that it is only in a peaceful atmosphere the government can upgrade living standards in the region.