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Representatives of Nigeria's Niger Delta militant groups and local elders have presented 16 demands to the Federal Government, including the relocation of the headquarters of oil firms to their region.

The stakeholders met with President Muhammadu Buhari and top government officials for the commencement of official dialogue for peace to return to the region.

The meeting, under the auspices of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, began on Tuesday.

The Niger Delta militant groups also want the allocation of oil blocks to the local people as well as the withdrawal of soldiers from the creeks.

The military

"We presented a 16-point request to the President, which includes the withdrawal of the military in oil producing communities in the region,” King Alfred Diete-Spiff of Bayelsa, disclosed after the meeting.

The leaders complained that out of the five Amnesty Programme components, only the disarmament and demobilisation were being implemented.

The programme was the initiative of the late President Musa Yar'Adua to pull militants out of the creeks.

But there were tensions over the apparent lack of a mutually acceptable exit strategy.

The militants and the elders now want the programme to reappraise its core mandate to provide a robust exit strategy, in order to transit the recipients into jobs and effectively re-integrate them back to society.

Justice issues
They demobilised militants want to be weaned of dependency on stipends, so that their skills would be of benefit to themselves and the larger society.

“In view of the insecurity situation in the Niger Delta, a number of pending law and justice issues regarding some aggrieved groups and individuals are yet to be resolved. It is important to address these issues urgently as a step towards lasting peace, the 16-demands list read.

The effect of increased military presence in the Niger Delta was also raised and blamed for then invasion of communities, displacement of persons, harassment and other forms of human rights abuse.

They Niger Delta groups want the government to halt the escalation of tension in the region and meet the immediate needs of those displaced by the upsurge of insecurity in the region.

Another demand is the the Ogoni clean-up and environmental remediation, which the people want expedited.

Further, the Niger Delta groups want the Federal Government to address the devastating effects of the coastal erosion and the lack of an effective shoreline protection for the local communities.

They want the Abuja government to commission a region-wide credible assessment of the impacts of crude oil pollution of the environment and undertake to enforce the requisite laws.

Nigeria. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The demands also include the prompt take-off of the Niger Delta Maritime University.

The issue of development of other critical infrastructure in the Niger Delta should also be addressed for peace to return, according to the list of demands.

The people want the completion of of East-West road and the full implementation of the rail project that was designated to run through the Niger Delta to Lagos.

Also to be addressed is the pipeline surveillance contracts, which should be given to the communities rather than individuals. The communities, they say, would consider the responsibility over the pipelines as belonging to all.

That the headquarters of most oil companies were not located in the Niger Delta Region was also a cause for concern.

Gas master plan
The absence of the headquarters of the companies, the Niger Delta groups reckon, was denying the region of all the related developmental and associated benefits.

Further, the Niger Delta people want a greater say in energy/power plan, that gives all sides an equitable stake.

They want the Brass Liquified Natural Gas ( LNG) and fertiliser plant project, including the Train 7, implemented, reviewed and updated.

They further demand a national gas master plan to integrate the economic interests and industrialisation of the region.

The creation of Niger Delta industrial corridor that would process some portions of the hydrocarbon natural resources, is also on the table, as well as the expediting of the work on the export processing zones and harnessing the rain-fed agricultural potentials of the area through the development of farms estates, fishery projects and Agro-Allied industrial clusters.

The ownership
They want the federal government to address the lack of participation as well as imbalance in the ownership of oil and gas assets.

The government, they said, should carry out a comprehensive resettlement plan for Bakassi people and ensure development for the host communities and displaced population to reduce the risk of turning them into stateless people.

“The region supports the call for true federalism and urges that the Federal Government should treat the matter expeditiously," they said.

A surprise miss on the list is the much-touted self determination and request for the Niger Delta sovereign state.

That effectively nailed the clamour for Biafra, which the south east agitators believed had found favour among the militants.

Out of recession
There was no immediate reaction from the Biafra state agitators who had earlier pushed for inclusion of some leaders in the negotiation team.

The Niger Delta Avengers, a violent militant group, had threatened to resume bombing of the oil facilities if they were not properly represented.

Meanwhile, oil production has risen to 2.1 million barrel a day following the ceasefire and uninterrupted production.

The militants had crippled production since May, bringing it down from 2.2 million barrels daily to less than 1 million barrels.

Petroleum minister Ibe Kachukwu said that production would soon stabilise and there was hope that the country would soon get out of recession.

He thanked the Niger Delta leaders and the militant groups for their understanding.