Nigeria to begin intensive dialogue with Niger Delta Avengers

Nigeria is set to begin dialogue with militants who are intent on crippling the country’s oil sector.

The country’s minister for petroleum resources Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a team led by the national security advisor, to begin intensive dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers.

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“We are making contacts with everybody who is involved, the ones that we can identify, through them, the ones that we can’t identify so that there is a lot more inclusiveness in this dialogue,” Kachikwu told Reuters.

To secure oil infrastructure, the government recently ordered a massive clean up operation in Ogoniland in the Niger Delta region, while the military has been carrying out operations to flush out the militants.

Despite these efforts, the Avengers have continued to carry out brazen strikes and the latest tally indicates that the group has sabotaged at least 10 separate oil installations in the past month.

Oil production in the country has declined by nearly 50 percent to 1.5 million barrels per day from 2.2 million barrels at the beginning of this year, putting more pressure on Africa’s biggest economy.

Reuters