Nigeria: Dickson Restates Opposition to Military Action in Niger Delta

Emmanuel Addeh, "Nigeria: Dickson Restates Opposition to Military Action in Niger Delta," allafrica.com

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Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, wednesday maintained his strong opposition to the use of military force as the panacea to ending the prolonged crisis in the Niger Delta region which has almost halved Nigeria's oil export since the beginning of this year.

But Dickson who spoke in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, during a visit by officials of the United States Consulate in Nigeria, noted that direct confrontation with the youths and brutalisation of innocent residents of communities in the region would further worsen the problem. ...

The federal government had recently begun the massive deployment of military personnel to most of the states in the region, ostensibly to quell the activities of militants that have consistently attacked oil and gas infrastructure in the area. ...

But the governor spoke just as the high-powered delegation from the US embassy led by the Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. David Young, called for the transformation of the lives of the people of the region and indeed the entire country with the oil wealth available in Nigeria.

Young, who was accompanied by the Consul-General, Mr. John Bray and Chief of Political and Economic Section, Mr. Tom Hines, noted that dialogue remains the most enduring option to tackling the challenges in the region. ...

Young ... said this was his first visit to Bayelsa State, adding that he just arrived to his new posting in Nigeria last month. ...

He reiterated that US officials in the country would continue to focus on promoting transparency, fiscal responsibility and providing funding for development and economic prosperity through a variety of programmes.

These programmes, he said, were in the areas of agriculture, education, public diplomacy, maritime security training, aviation training, health, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and good governance.