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No to Terrorism in N-Delta - Obasanjo

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
January 27, 2006
Posted to the web January 27, 2006

By Charles Ozoemena & Kingsley Omonobi
Lagos
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo vowed, yesterday, in Switzerland that his
administration would not give in to what he called terrorism in the Niger
Delta. He was referring to the abduction of four oil workers in Bayelsa State
and Tuesday's attack on the Nigeria Agip Oil Company's headquarters in Port
Harcourt.
Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Rowland Oritsejafor, also speaking on the
abduction of the oil workers said government had refrained from launching
military action to rescue the captives so far in the interest of the generality
of the people of the Niger Delta.
President Olusegun Obasanjo in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, assured the
international community that the recent acts of criminality by militia groups
in the Niger Delta did not amount to a crisis in Nigeria's oil industry.
He said while he would not regard the resurgence of militancy in the Niger
Delta as unimportant, Government was already taking effective steps to contain
the situation. "I do not believe that our oil industry is under threat. This is
an aberration. It will come and go. There is an element of terrorism in this
and you cannot say we should give in to terrorism," he said.
He said his administration was fully aware of the global importance of the
hydrocarbon resources of the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea and would do
everything possible to guarantee their security.
President Obasanjo added that the Federal Government was addressing all issues
causing tension in the region with a view to providing a lasting resolution.
According to him, although government was in contact with the militant group
claiming responsibility for recent criminal acts in the Niger Delta, it had not
offered them any "deal."
Oritsejafor sues for peace
Meanwhile, Dr. Oritsejafor yesterday clarified that government was not afraid
to take decisive military action against groups in Niger Delta that have been
kidnapping oil workers particularly the group holding on to the four oil
workers in the area. He said government was holding back because the
consequences of a military action would be too much to the peace-loving people
of the area and the economy to bear.
"We want our friends and partners in the oil and gas business to come out alive
and we want to make sure that our economy is not disrupted. More importantly,
we want to let these people who are being misled to take this action, to know
that is not the way to fight any cause."
The Minister of State for Defence spoke in Abuja while commissioning the HIV
Programme liaison office for the military. He condemned the kidnap of the oil
workers, asking: "Which war are they fighting? They claim they are fighting a
war. If government decides to go after them, the consequences will be too
much."
Describing government's action to negotiate as "a positive development," he
said: "To go into battle and kill is not the problem. But we want to prevent
the consequences of not only our oil and gas workers losing their lives, but
also huge economic assets getting destroyed. But I want to assure you that we
are on top of the situation."

   

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