...Says dialogue must come with sincerity
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Tuesday,
commended President Muhammadu Buhari for
listening to wise counsel by opting to negotiate with
the Niger Delta Militants, especially the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) and suspending military action,
saying, "the President must face the reality that
democracy is about negotiation and concession."
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Tuesday,
commended President Muhammadu Buhari for
listening to wise counsel by opting to negotiate with
the Niger Delta Militants, especially the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) and suspending military action,
saying, "the President must face the reality that
democracy is about negotiation and concession."
He however said there must be display of absolute
sincerity from the federal government such that the
militants will have trust in the process.
According to a statement issued by his Special
Assistant on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor maintained that
"the Niger Delta region as at today is still the
golden goose laying the golden eggs on which all
other regions are surviving and it will be suicidal for
military action to be sustained against the
militants."
Governor Fayose who, in a statement last week
Thursday, advised President Buhari to dialogue with
the Niger Delta Militants, said he was happy that
"for the first time, the President took to advice and
suspended military actions in the Niger Delta and
opted to dialogue with the militants."
He maintained that the President's approach to civil
unrests of any kind had caused more security
problems in the country, adding that "the President
must stop talking tough on issues that dialogue can
resolve."
The governor said the hardline approach of
President Buhari had already cost Nigeria billions of
dollars in revenue, adding that; "If our daily crude oil
production of 2.2 million barrels per day had been
sustained, Nigeria would have been having savings
in the Excess Crude Account by now.
"Crude oil bench mark is $38 per barrel while the oil
is now being sold at $50 per barrel, meaning that
we would have been having $12 per barrel saved in
the Excess Crude Account."
Governor Fayose called on members of the
negotiation committee to see the assignment giving
to them as one that is highly important to the
revival of the country's economy, saying that they
should not act in anyway that will suggest that they
were not sincere.
