Niger Delta Avengers blowing oil facilities ignorant - Kachikwu

The Federal Government on Sunday said that the recent attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region by suspected militants might not be unconnected with its anti-corruption posture.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, said this during a thanksgivinSg service organised by the Rock of Ages Christian Assembly International in Benin, Edo State.

Also present at the event were the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

Several oil facilities have been reportedly blown up in recent times by a new militant group known as the Avengers.

But Kachikwu, who also defended the removal of subsidy on petrol, said that members of the group might have been irked by the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari, due  to lack of sufficient knowledge of the President’s change agenda.

He said, “I have the hope that those, who are offended by virtually (all) the policies that we have pursued and still blow up the pipelines to express their anger, will sooner or later see the hope that we are trying very hard to produce and work with us in a communal brotherhood to fix this country.”

The minister, who expressed the hope of better days ahead, said that the APC-led government was determined to build infrastructure and intervene in other critical sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, education and road construction.

He said, “We have the hope that agriculture will be developed and we shall feed our children and our communities and export agricultural products to make this country an economic hub that would make Nigeria great again.

“I urge all of you to begin to look at the country where you do not spend all your time criticising people, criticising your leaders, criticising concepts and ideas, but empower yourself because you are here for a purpose and to add value to Nigeria.

 “It is not about me or the (APC) national chairman. But it is actually about you and the country and your belief in your sense of service.”

On his part, Odigie-Oyegun explained that with the current economic challenge, there was the need for Nigeria to take critical steps in order to achieve the change mantra of the Federal  Government, adding that “things will definitely get better progressively.”

“We just have to change trajectory for this nation to survive. Change is difficult. The silver lining is there. Things will definitely get better progressively.

“It is a journey in which we are set. We are going through the period of labour and at the end of labour comes rejoicing. This nation will be great again,” the national chairman said.

He added, “No doubt that we are going through a very difficult time. No question that we could not have continued doing things the way we were. We would not have been here today, but for God Himself who gave us President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Oshiomhole urged the church to desist from providing cover for public officials who allegedly abused their offices.

He also noted that Nigerians had resisted the removal of fuel subsidy in the past “because of insincerity on the part of government.”

Oshiomhole, who recalled his days as a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, said, “At a point in time, God used us to shut down the country when the previous government was in power.

“But the truth is that time has changed. During the (Olusegun) Obasanjo administration, we were talking about N20bn for fuel subsidy and the last figure under Jonathan rose to N1.2tn.

“When your total earning is about N2tn and you spend more than half for petrol, how much do you use for infrastructure? So, fuel subsidy doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh, has said that it is in the interest of the Niger Delta to stop the vandalisation of oil pipelines.

Boroh called on youths in possession of arms in the Niger Delta to lay them down to create an atmosphere conducive for development.

He said that some beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme had been elected into Houses of Assembly in Rivers and Bayelsa states apart from those elected as council chairmen.

Boroh said that it was encouraging that majority of the stakeholders in the Niger Delta were committed to the maintenance of peace and security in the oil-rich region.

The Head of Media and Communications Consultant of the Amnesty Office, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, quoted Boroh as having said this while presenting the scorecard of the office in Abuja, in a statement on Sunday.

Boroh said that apart from the payment of stipends to 30,000 people, a total of 2,152 youths from the Niger Delta had been given scholarships to study in various countries in Europe, United States, Asia and the Caribbean.

He added that 2,723 others had been given scholarship to study in 32 Nigerian univers

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