Nigeria to spend $10 billion to end conflict in Niger Delta

Nigeria will invest $10bn (£8bn) in its oil-rich Niger Delta which has been badly affected by instability to end an insurgency by militants, says oil minister, Mr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu.

“We are launching $10 billion infrastructural rebirth investment programmes in the Niger Delta region. 

“This is not money that is going to come strictly from the federal government.

“It is going to come from investors, individuals who are ready to do private sector infrastructure, obviously states and federal governments as the case may be and international organisations who have shown interest to help,” he said.

Kachikwu made the remarks at the unveiling of the Roadmap for the Petroleum Industry tagged “7 Big Wins to Grow Nigeria’s Oil and Gas.”

The money would be used to build infrastructure, including roads and railways, Mr. Kachikwu said.

“As important as it is to ensure that agriculture, solid minerals and other critical sectors of the economy are supported to grow and contribute more to the nation’s economy, we still need a virile and efficient oil and gas industry to take care of our foreign exchange requirements,” he noted.

According to him, an efficient oil and gas sector remains a national imperative and a core thrust of his economic policy.

He added that the petroleum industry remained critical to the Nigerian economy of today and the future, despite current challenges.

The president also admitted that oil and gas still remained a critical enabler for the successful implementation of his budget as well as the source of funds for laying a strong foundation for a new and more diversified economy.

Militant attacks have severely disrupted oil production, fuelling a recession in the West African state.

The militants have been demanding that the government spend more of its oil wealth on tackling widespread poverty in a region, known as the Niger Delta.

They also accuse multinational firms of polluting the environment, destroying the livelihoods of farming and fishing communities.

Mr Kachikwu said that President Muhammadu Buhari would meet the militants and community leaders next week.

“Our target is to ensure zero militancy in the area,” he said.

“This planned meeting shows the level of interest the president has to ensure peace in the area.”

The $10bn would “not necessarily” come from the federal government, but from “oil companies, investors, individuals”, he is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

There have been many catastrophic oil spills in the Niger Delta over the years.

A new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), emerged after President Buhari, a northerner, took office last year after winning elections.

It has carried out a spate of attacks on oil plants and pipelines, causing a sharp fall in oil production and worsening the financial crisis in Africa’s most populous state.

Mr Buhari’s predecessor Goodluck Jonathan came from the Niger Delta, and managed to broker a peace deal with militants in the region.

The militants accuse Mr Buhari of reneging on the deal, an allegation he denies.

Oil is the Nigerian government’s main source of income.

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