THE Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), has described government’s loss of revenue last year owing to increased wave of militancy and resultant shut-ins, as fortunate for the state.
Last week, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Minister of Finance, had disclosed during a briefing that Nigeria has lost $4.4bn in oil revenue in the past year due to increasing violence in the Niger-Delta region.
She fingered resultant cuts in oil exports on the activities of militant groups demanding more control of Nigeria’s oil revenue.
While reacting to Mrs Usman’s comments, an operative of MEND who called Vanguard last Friday, also recounted losses to the Niger-Delta, noting that such losses to the area include all the revenue which accrued to the Nigerian state, among others.
“It is rather fortunate for the Nigerian state that she is still counting her losses in financial terms and indeed in comfortable digits alone. In contrast, what the Niger-Delta lost in 2006 alone is all the revenue that accrued to the Nigerian State, the losses stipulated by Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the losses to government-sponsored theft as well as the losses of thousands of lives of our young men and women to hunger, disease and government-sponsored genocide.
When these losses are computed together, those in the National Assembly, their collaborators in the Executive arm of government, as well as those theorists in their comfortable offices in the Nigerian state who feel that 25 per cent derivation is too much for the gradual repair of a despoiled Niger-Delta, will have fresh indices to add to their bogus, selfish and ill-intentioned debate.
For the avoidance of doubt, the peoples of the Niger-Delta are resolved to dictate the future of their territory,” the MEND operative submitted.
On the need to explore the possibilities of using dialogue to resolve the issues at stake, the MEND operative who refused to disclose his identity said that the time for talking was over, adding also that efforts to talk with government was a venture in futility.
He branded oil workers still working in the delta as government collaborators urging them to heed warnings calling on them to leave the area for their safety.
Meanwhile, five Chinese workers, kidnapped from their company premises in the Niger-Delta last week, are said to be safe.
“According to what we know, all five are still safe,” Chinese government spokesman, Liu Jianchao told reporters.
“The Chinese government, relevant departments and our embassy in Nigeria are expending all efforts to find a way to secure their release.”
The Chinese telecommunications workers were abducted by unidentified armed men early last Friday in oil-rich Rivers State.
Kidnappings have become common in the region where armed militant groups are demanding greater share of the oil wealth coming from the swamps of the delta.
Mrs Usman told reporters at a news conference in Abuja that crude oil production had fallen by as much as 600,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of last year.
“The loss was due principally to social disruptions in the Niger- Delta,” she said.
THE Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), has described government’s loss of revenue last year owing to increased wave of militancy and resultant shut-ins, as fortunate for the state.
Last week, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Minister of Finance, had disclosed during a briefing that Nigeria has lost $4.4bn in oil revenue in the past year due to increasing violence in the Niger-Delta region.
She fingered resultant cuts in oil exports on the activities of militant groups demanding more control of Nigeria’s oil revenue.
While reacting to Mrs Usman’s comments, an operative of MEND who called Vanguard last Friday, also recounted losses to the Niger-Delta, noting that such losses to the area include all the revenue which accrued to the Nigerian state, among others.
“It is rather fortunate for the Nigerian state that she is still counting her losses in financial terms and indeed in comfortable digits alone. In contrast, what the Niger-Delta lost in 2006 alone is all the revenue that accrued to the Nigerian State, the losses stipulated by Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the losses to government-sponsored theft as well as the losses of thousands of lives of our young men and women to hunger, disease and government-sponsored genocide.
When these losses are computed together, those in the National Assembly, their collaborators in the Executive arm of government, as well as those theorists in their comfortable offices in the Nigerian state who feel that 25 per cent derivation is too much for the gradual repair of a despoiled Niger-Delta, will have fresh indices to add to their bogus, selfish and ill-intentioned debate.
For the avoidance of doubt, the peoples of the Niger-Delta are resolved to dictate the future of their territory,” the MEND operative submitted.
On the need to explore the possibilities of using dialogue to resolve the issues at stake, the MEND operative who refused to disclose his identity said that the time for talking was over, adding also that efforts to talk with government was a venture in futility.
He branded oil workers still working in the delta as government collaborators urging them to heed warnings calling on them to leave the area for their safety.
Meanwhile, five Chinese workers, kidnapped from their company premises in the Niger-Delta last week, are said to be safe.
“According to what we know, all five are still safe,” Chinese government spokesman, Liu Jianchao told reporters.
“The Chinese government, relevant departments and our embassy in Nigeria are expending all efforts to find a way to secure their release.”
The Chinese telecommunications workers were abducted by unidentified armed men early last Friday in oil-rich Rivers State.
Kidnappings have become common in the region where armed militant groups are demanding greater share of the oil wealth coming from the swamps of the delta.
Mrs Usman told reporters at a news conference in Abuja that crude oil production had fallen by as much as 600,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of last year.
“The loss was due principally to social disruptions in the Niger- Delta,” she said.