FG Unveils 20-Point Agenda To Curb Militancy In the Niger Delta

In a video message by the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the minister explained that the plan will ensure a “roadmap to closure”.

He described the activities of militants in the Niger Delta region as one of the key critical challenges facing the country, saying that it has destroyed oil operations on daily basis.

It will be recalled that since the resurgence of militant activities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil production has dropped to a 22-year low. Owing to the amnesty program introduced by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, petroleum exports increased from about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in mid-2009 to about 2.4 million bpd in 2011.

However, in June 2015, President Buhari cut funding for the amnesty program by around 70 percent in the 2016 budget, which brought about another wave of militancy in the region, resulting in the fall of oil production output from 2.2 million bpd to about 1.4 million bpd.

Several militant groups were formed, resulting in the destruction of oil facilities and Since the discovery of crude oil in the country in 1956, the Niger Delta region has played a pivotal role in the politics, economics, and security of Nigeria.

The region’s estimated 37.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 188 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas are the largest hydrocarbon deposits in Africa.

Oil exploitation has become central to the state economy, accounting for some 80 percent of government revenue, 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings, and nearly 50 percent of gross domestic product.