Edwin Clark Group rejects FG's Niger Delta summit

– The group said the summit was an academic one which would not solve the problem in the Niger Delta–
They urged militants to be calm in the face of provocationThe Pan-Niger Delta Coastal States Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum led by Chief Edwin Clark has rejected the Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Summit headed by Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
Daily Trust reports that in a release signed by Chief Clark and 28 others, the group described the summit as contrary to the expectations“ of all right-thinking persons worldwide”.
Clack claimed the summit was meant to shift focus from the main issue at a time militants in the region have decided on a ceasefire.
The Niger Delta forum insisted that the problem in the region did not require an academic summit but rather dialogue between the government and credible representatives from the Niger Delta.
They reaffirmed their resolve to “only engage the Federal Government through a credible dialogue process with accredited representatives of the Niger Delta Region to proffer long lasting solutions to the protracted Niger Delta insurgency and not through a summit.”
They said the oil production had increased to 1.7mbpd due to the cessation of hostilities by the armed agitators of the Niger Delta,The group insisted that this should serve as springboard for negotiation rather than taking action that will bring militancy back.
The group claimed that“President Muhammadu Buhari, for over six weeks, since cessation of hostilities as a result of the intervention by the Traditional Rulers, Elders and Leaders of the Niger Delta, had not responded to the demands of the peoples of the Niger Delta for a credible and proper dialogue process.“
We note with happiness that the Region has been relatively quiet and stable, following The ceasefire brokered by the leaders of the Region with the expectation that the Federal Government will urgently interface and commence negotiation with accredited representatives of the Niger Delta Region.
Rather than doing the needful, the Region has however, been over militarized of its creeks and other spaces….However, a significant achievement of the ceasefire is the increasein the quantum of oil production of 1.7 mbpd, according to the Hon. Minister of States, Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
“We wish to state that almost a month has elapsed since militant groups in the region agreed to a 60-Day cessation of hostilities without the Federal Government constituting a negotiation team.
Rather, the Office of the Vice President is organizing a summit of stakeholders purportedly for the Niger Delta.
It is our considered opinion thatfor the Federal Government to contemplate a summit of this nature, rather than proper dialogue and negotiations with leaders of the region is to trivialize the gravity of the issues and opt for a cosmetic approach.
”The group however called on agitators to be calm in the face of provocation because as a people we are still committed to the visionof a peaceful, prosperous, united and restructured Nigeria where no one is oppressed”.