BREAKING: Niger Delta monarchs meet FG, state conditions for peace

Traditional rulers and stakeholders from the Niger Delta on Thursday
met the Federal Government and read out terms that would build
confidence as well as restore peace in the region.
This follows the ceasefire announced by the Niger Delta Avengers and
other militant groups in the region on August 21, 2016.
In a statement, which was read at the headquarters of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation in Abuja by the Bolowei of Gbaramatu
Kingdom, Chief Wellington Okirika, the traditional rulers listed six
things the Federal Government should do in order to build confidence
and stop the destruction of the country's oil assets by militants in
the region.
They said, "Having acceded to the call for a ceasefire by the Minister
of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on August 4, 2016,
the buck has now been passed to the table of the Federal Government as
driven by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources – a
representative of the Federal Government.
"For the purposes of building confidence in the system, we wish to
state here that as a matter of urgency the Federal Government should
appoint/constitute a Federal Government dialogue team; release the 10
innocent school children arrested by the Nigerian Army on the 28th of
May, 2016 in Oporoza and others in detention on trumped up charges.
"Return the Golden Sword, being the symbol of authority in the
Gbaramatu traditional institution; return the three traditional
council speed boats in custody of the Nigerian Army; cessation of
hostilities perpetrated by the military in the Niger Delta region; and
equally important, the Federal Government should make a categorical
statement about the opening of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko
Delta State for academic activities in the 2016/2017 session."