A call has been made by the Economic Community of West African States for the peaceful resolution of the Niger Delta crisis. The area has witnessed substantial disquiet lately as militants take up arms to protest what they see as the neglect of the oil producing area by successive administrations.
Negotiations toward resolving the grievances have not yielded much as the youth have continued to take oil companies’ expatriate workers as hostages.
But Ecowas, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, urged the militants to “favour peaceful negotiations in their choice of options as they seek solutions to genuine grievances”.
The body expressed satisfaction with the May 7 declaration by Niger Delta militants who promised a cease-fire in their campaigns to disrupt oil production.
Ecowas also lauded the recent presidential initiative to scale up development in the Niger Delta, saying that such would tackle the main causes of conflicts in the area.
It cautioned that violence would only complicate the problems in the area. Accordingly, it advised communities and leaders of the Niger Delta to take advantage of the space created for dialogue to pursue the path of peace.