The Nigerian government has again assured foreign oil investors and major players in the country that security in the troubled Niger Delta region will be brought under control.
Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources and president of theOrganisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), Dr Edmund Daukoru, met over the weekend in the capital Abuja, with oil companies and industry executives to discuss ways of finding a solution to the Niger Delta region.
The Niger Delta has been plagued by a spate of foreign oil worker abductions and kidnappings by militants in the region.
The meeting was called to come up with a solution to the security situation in the region, and to assure key oil players that the Nigerian government was fully committed to protecting life and property in the area.
Major oil companies have recently threatened to halt their activities in the country if the situation is not brought under control.
Daukuru assured industry players that the government would accelerate sustainable development in the region, and create a peaceful atmosphere in which the activities of militants were contained and eventually halted.
The Nigerian government recently ordered that military and security personnel retaliate with force against any criminals and militants in the region, raising fears that the violence could escalate.
The Unites States recently offered to train security personnel in the Niger Delta region in an effort to bring the situation under control.