The federal government has been cautioned by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) not to discount the potential of attacks on oil pipelines in the wake of the Rivers State crisis.
Obiuwevbi Ominimini, PANDEF’s national publicity secretary, reportedly stated that the state’s crisis could only be resolved politically.
In an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, Ominimini stated that in order to reach a compromise, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike need to work together.
It is extremely clear what we are saying. Naturally, there are expectations in this situation from both the Wike and Fubara sides. “PANDEF is arguing that a middle course ought to be offered,” he stated.
“Ethnic coloration into the crisis would boomerang,” he remarked in response to Wike’s claim that the Ijaw people did not constitute a significant portion of the Niger Delta region’s population.
He said, “That is why we are saying there must be a political solution, because what we are seeing is that if this thing does not give a political solution, it will expand into a crisis that will affect not just the Niger Delta but Nigeria at large.”
He went on to say that it was inappropriate for Wike to say that nothing would happen if Fubara was impeached. According to him, attacks on gas and oil installations are not something Nigeria would like to see.
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You can sense that a crisis is imminent from this speech. And at a time when Nigeria seeks to boost oil output in the region, this impending issue is bad. The economy of Nigeria is based on oil and gas, and anything that restricts the free flow of oil is detrimental to the country, he continued.
