5 April 2009

Abuja/Port Harcourt — In what may be a major shift in the attitude of the Federal Government towards Niger Delta militants, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday promised amnesty to those who are willing to lay down their arms and be integrated into the lawful society.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has issued a white paper on the Justice Kayode Eso panel report which indicted former Governor Peter Odili and former Transport Minister, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, of complicity in the crises in the state - the highlight of the recommendations being a fresh inquiry into the death of former All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) stalwart, Chief Marshall Harry, and Chief Gospel Bilogbolo.

Speaking at the 47th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yar'Adua said: "We are working on the terms for the granting of amnesty to all those who are prepared to lay down their arms in the Niger Delta and this amnesty will include not only laying down their arms, but reintegrating and rehabilitating them into the Nigerian society."

His government had previously vowed to treat militancy as criminality, but the President's latest pronouncements may signal a shift in approach as the country continues to lose significant investments and incomes in the oil-producing region owing to militant activities.

"We are working on the holistic development and implementation of the Niger Delta Master Plan," he said. "We have created the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to champion the overall and holistic development oil-producing areas. This administration has been releasing full funds to the Niger Delta Development Comm-ission."

He listed other measures the administration had taken to restore law and order to the region.

"We are funding a re-positioned Joint Task Force (JTF) to enforce law and order in the area and we have worked out the new rules of engagement for the JTF, giving it a period of six months. Next week, the National Security Council will meet to deliberate and finalise on the new rules of engagement.

"The government has released enough funds for the JTF to acquire the proper capacity to be able to enforce law and order in the Niger Delta," the President said.

On the epileptic power supply, he said: "I will like to let the members of NEC know that all plans for the attainment of our target of 6000mw of generated electricity to be fully transmitted and distributed by the end of this year are in place."

He further said: "The plans have been concluded, implementation has begun, and all the required funding for the attainment of this objective is in place. The plan to generate 10,000mw of electricity by year 2011 has been concluded and implementation has begun and all the funding required is in place.

"I want to express my confidence that by the grace of God, the targets will be achieved by the end of this year and by the end of 2011. I am reiterating this, so that the nation will know what the PDP government is doing and we have not left Nigerians in any doubt as regards what we intend to deliver, so that the nation can hold the government and the party accountable."

He called for cooperation of the states, Labour, organised private sector, Non-Government Organi-sations and Civil Society Organ-isations to make sacrifice.

On concessioning of roads, the President said: "Within the next one week, we will announce the concessioning of Ibadan-Lagos Highway. We are working on the concession of major highways like Benin-Shagamu, Kano-Abuja and we have take strategic roads for rehabilitation - eight of them. The contract will be awarded next week at the next Federal Executive Council meeting. The other strategic ones which we have worked with the National Assembly, the contracts will be awarded before end of April."

The President also passed a vote of confidence on the Prince Vincent Ogbulafor-led PDP.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali were absent at the meeting.

In Port Harcourt, Odili and Sekibo are to be investigated for their roles in the crises where several communities were razed to the ground and thousands of lives lost to fights for control where militia groups were allegedly armed by the people in power.

Both Odili and Sekibo have denied wrongdoing, alleging that their indictments were politically motivated.

Other recommendations adopted by the Governor Rotimi Amaechi government include the setting up of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate, afresh, the killing of Harry and Bilogbolo.

Both men were murdered in what was believed to be political killings and investigations into their deaths are yet to unmask the culprits.

Amaechi had while making public presentation of the Greater Port Harcourt City Master plan vowed that he would implement the Justice Eso Peace and Reconciliation Commission report.

At the Alfred Diette Spiff Civic Centre, Amaechi also adopted the proposal for the demolition of all waterfronts which he said was for beautification and security reasons as they were used as landing point for arms and ammunition by miscreants and criminals.

The recommendation to continue reconciliation of communities at loggerheads was also adopted. A new panel would be saddled with the responsibility. It also adopted the recommendation that the Amayanabo of Bonny must obey and respect the laws of the land.

Apart from agreeing with the Eso panel on the need to promulgate laws against cultism, firearms, illegal oil bunkering and other known criminal activities, he also bought into the idea that crack security teams should be stationed in troubled areas.

Part of the terms of reference of the Eso panel set up May last year included examining the facts and determining if a case of criminal negligence could not be slammed on the former governor.

Indications that Odili's regime may have been deemed culpable for alleged negligence or even precipitating the crises manifested in Eso stopping short of calling Odili a witness of untruth when he observed that Odili took an excursion into amnesia by forgetting details of what happened under their period of investigation.

While presenting the report on March 10, 2009, Eso had indicted Odili, Sekibo and former President Olusegun Obasanjo for fostering militancy through mingling and interacting with them even after they had admitted to killing thousands of people.

He said the sitting in Aso Rock with Alhaji Dokubo Asari and Ateke Tom whom he called the "Generalissimo of militants" was akin to lionising them and making them have a larger than life image.

Amaechi also used the occasion of the presentation of the Master plan to deny allegations that the building of the new Port Harcourt city was an Ikwerre Agenda, pointing out that it stretched from Obio/Akpo, through Eleme, Okrika, Ogu/Bolu, Onne to Ogoni.

He, however, blamed his political detractors for the allegations, pointing out that he was not deterred but would push ahead to work day and night like a man with a one-term mandate.

He also said he was not interested in vying for second term in office but would use the resources of the state to the best of his ability to develop and empower the people.

He regretted that whereas he aimed at building capacity for indigenes of the state by awarding contracts to them, they have turned to fritter away the funds contrary to his expectations.

On the new city, he said its implementation had already started with a road linking the new and old cities which would be named after Professor of Virology, Tam David West.

He said that the state would devote N100 billion yearly for the next 50 years o build the city, adding that the rural-urban drift in search of jobs justifies it.

Amaechi said he had built both urban and rural roads and asked the crowd to wait till October this year to see the manifestation of his vision as then, even the turbines which had not been working would come on stream with 100 megawatts.

He, however, noted that in the new city they planned to build, they would generate 300 mega-watts of power, while gas and water would be piped into houses there.