Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), has expressed confidence in the ability of the military and other security agencies to apprehend those behind the recent destruction of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.
Boroh, who spoke in Abuja, said following the presidential directive to arrest the situation, he is confident that the perpetrators will be arrested soon.
He advised communities in the Niger Delta to become more vigilant in order to protect the oil and gas pipelines, which are national assets located in the region.
“Security is everybody’s responsibility because the implications and consequences of insecurity equally affect everyone. The Presidential Amnesty Programme is a security stabilisation programme and is not responsible for the placement and deployment of security personnel in the oil and gas facilities and assets of the Federal Government in the Niger Delta. Individuals and communities therefore have their role to play to complement government’s effort to ensure peace and security, which are sine qua non for development of the region,” Boroh said.
He explained that his office is set to commence a series of stakeholder engagements within and outside the region toward addressing the current situation because of its belief in dialogue even when the security agencies are doing their job.
Boroh said he has observed that some persons are trying to exploit the current situation occasioned by the attack on the pipelines to cause tension in the region, whip up sentiments and unnecessarily politicise the issue.
“The call for persons with grievances to embrace dialogue is not an indication of weakness on the part of the government or managers of the amnesty programme. Rather, we are in a democracy and people should be allowed to ventilate their grievances without recourse to violence. If their complaints are genuine and reasonable, they will be looked into,” he said.
He implored the various stakeholders in the region to show utmost patriotism at a time the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has given a firm commitment to tackle the developmental and environmental challenges of the Niger Delta.
