A major policy thrust of Federal Government�s �constructive engagement� with the Niger Delta militants was revealed yesterday by the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed.
He told the House of Representatives Committee on Defence that for the sake of lasting peace in the troubled oil-producing region, the Federal Government was considering engaging the services of the militants to police the oil pipelines and installations to check vandalism.
�We will engage them (militants) to police the oil pipelines. But they must first form themselves into limited liability companies for us to discuss with them,� he said.
�This will check the activities of even oil companies who cleverly engage in oil bunkering. We must fight criminality wherever it exists whether in Yobe or anywhere,� he said.
He also revealed that the Federal Government had concluded plans to seek international funding to combat the lingering cases of pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and other security problems in the region.
According to Yayale, the proposal is �for the transformation of militants groups in the region into limited liability companies for the monitoring of pipeline vandals.�
He said kidnappings by the militants had been giving the government sleepless nights, leading to series of meetings with President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as well as other top government officials.
�Yesterday, I could not sleep. We started our meeting from 8 pm and up till the midnight we were still discussing this issue. We have identified the recent kidnap cases and we have identified the illegal oil bunkering. All these are being analysed with the view to articulating a position to government and naturally attract funding which would go beyond the country,� he said.
Yayale said the Ministry of Defence was already working in collaboration with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on this.
He stated further that the ministry had set a two-week deadline for itself within which to submit reports of its findings and proposal for a lasting solution to the security challenges in the Niger Delta.
�We are mainly concerned now with the pipeline vandalisation [vandalism] and survey has been conducted on how other countries have done it and this would require deeper analysis. We are informed that in the case of Algeria, for example, the main pipelines for export are really under the ocean and most of their sales are discharged in Europe.
�In Nigeria, because God almighty loves this country, the pipelines are as exposed as anything that you can think about. We never thought that a day like this would come when people would deliberately tamper with the pipelines,� he said.
But on the kidnap cases, the minister said the states needed to demonstrate the political will to punish offenders while enjoying the backing of the federal government.
�We have discussed with the governments of the states and right now from what we have discovered of recent, we are going to hold a meeting with the Rivers state government in whose state the incident of kidnapping has become a source of concern. I believe that Mr. President is on top of this and he is wading in,� he said.
He explained that his intention was to discuss the details of the report after submission with the chairman and members of the committee with a view to making them appreciate the seriousness of the task at hand.
The Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Hon. Oluwole Oke, said the intention of the committee in inviting the minister and the service chiefs was to find a solution to the problem which is already affecting the nation�s economy.
Oke said there was no doubt that a �healthy and safety� Niger Delta means a healthy and safe Nigeria.
May212008