Buhari Directs Osinbajo To Head Delegation On Niger Delta Crisis

Source: thewillnigeria.com

SAN FRANCISCO, March 13, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to head the special Presidential delegation charged with the task of resolving the crisis in the Niger Delta region.

This was disclosed to newsmen in Abuja, on Monday , by the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh Rtd, who said the choice of Osinbajo as leader of the government's fact-finding delegation to the crisis-ridden region was informed by President Buhari's strategic plan to engender peace in the region.

NAN reports that before now, the Niger-Delta elders were leading the delegation on the resolution of the crisis but added that with the new presidential directive, the Vice President would henceforth head the delegation.

According to him, this will meet the President's expectations of not only building confidence among the people on government's intentions but also help in its fact-finding mission on a workable and lasting solution.

“President Buhari knew what he was doing when he directed the Vice President to head the delegation,” he said.

“You need to see him in action when he visited different communities in the oil-producing states.

“There is no doubt that the President knows that peace in the Niger Delta region is crucial to the development of the entire country.”

“The visit of the vice president to the Niger Delta was in phases to cover all Niger Delta states. So far we have visited Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers and Imo states.

“The next phase will be Cross River, Abia and Ondo states. By that, we would have covered the entire Niger Delta states.

“This visit is in two folds. It is both a confidence-building and a fact-finding mission because a lot of information has been heard about the Niger Delta but no single person can claim to know all about the Niger delta.

“It requires effort by all stakeholders toward ensuring that issues of the Niger delta are resolved,” he said.

He also explained that efforts were on to pay beneficiaries of the amnesty programme studying abroad revealing that the problem arose due to the inability of the Federal Government to meet its financial obligations in the various countries.