Okiro Begs Niger Delta Militants To Sheath Sword, Embrace Dialogue With FG

MIKE OKIROThe Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro, has appealed to militants in the Niger Delta to drop their arms and embrace dialogue in resolving whatever their grievances are.
Okiro, a former Inspector General of Police, made the appeal in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Supreme Ibitomi, on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, dialogue remains the only panacea for lasting resolution of the issues at stake and for sake of corporate existence of the nation.
The PSC chairman made the appeal against the background of the recent destruction of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta region by militant groups led by the Niger Delta Avengers, which claimed responsibility for most of the bombings that has seen crude oil production in the country drop drastically since it began its violent campaign in February codenamed ‘Operation Red Economy’.
Mr. Okiro reminded the militants that their activities would hurt the interest of the region, adding the destruction of oil pipeline would leave serious effects on the already devastated ecosystem of the region.
“The activities of the militants is not only hurting Nigerians, but the real impact is wreaking havoc on Niger Deltans the more”, he said.
The former police chief said that “as the scion of the soil”, he was “irked by the restiveness in the region and seriously disturbed” by the activities of the militants.
“It is instructive to remember that oil is deplete-able resource”.
“The best option for the region is to use the present window of opportunity to re-negotiate a holistic template to provide the needed critical infrastructure to realistically develop the region in view of the looming post oil era”, Okiro added.
He noted that the Federal Government had demonstrated willingness to address some of the major problems of the region with the launching of the Ogoniland clean-up.
Okiro said with such commitment, there was the need to seek for a peaceful resolution of all grievances and urged the militants to sheath their sword and embrace dialogue.