MINISTER of Defence, Major-General Godwin Abbe, has said that contrary to the news doing the rounds that the military had deployed military warship and aircraft in the oil rich region of Niger Delta, the story is far from the truth.
General Abbe, who was at the Presidential Villa to consult with President Umaru Yar’Adua and the Honourary Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr. Timi Alaibe, said there was no presence of any military equipment in or around the Niger Delta.
The minister, who is also chairman of the Presidential Committee on Amnesty Implementation, was reacting to a story in a national daily on Tuesday (not the Nigerian Tribune) that the government had deployed military hardwares in the region in readiness for the ceasefire by the major militant groups in the region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which expireed this week.
MEND had threatened to resume attacks on oil companies and government facilities after the expiration of its self-imposed ceasefire on 15th of this month.