The Federal Government is engaging leaders and people of the Niger Delta regarding the spate of attacks on oil installations in the area, an act amounting to economic sabotage, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday.
He said besides reaching out to the leaders in those areas the government is also beefing up security .
According to him, the focus of the Buhari presidency “is to ensure that the man on the street in the Niger Delta receives the benefit from all that is available there”.
The Niger Delta Avengers, a new militant group, has in the last couple of weeks embarked on a simultaneous bombing of several pipelines operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the oil rich Niger Delta region.
A statement by the Vice President’s spokesman Laolu Akande, added that the government is working round the clock to minimize the losses arising from the attacks, adding that “we are talking, we are ensuring that we minimize losses and we are stepping up security. We are also engaging the international oil companies, IOCs, to see what options exists.”
On the list of recovered loot released by government, Osinbanjo further explained the reason the federal government omit the names of those who returned the looted funds and assets as this may jeopardize ongoing investigations.
“We have released the list of recovered loot, we know people are are asking for the names, but releasing the names may jeopardize ongoing investigations,” the Vice President said during a meeting with a delegation of the European Union led by the EU Ambassador in Nigeria, Michel Arrion.
Earlier, Arrion said he came to hold consultations with the Vice President as a follow-up on President Buhari’s meeting with EU leaders during his visit to the continent, adding that “Nigeria has a huge market we can invest in. It is also a place we can export from.”
Both the Vice President and the European Union Envoy also discussed the EU trade deal with ECOWAS, the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, which was also one of the main issues tabled at the meeting of West African leaders over the weekend in Dakar.
Elizabeth Archibong
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