Niger Delta militants have been urged to soft pedal in their bombings of pipelines and oil installations in the region.
The plea was made by members of the House of Representatives, who specifically further urged members of the Niger Delta Avengers to embrace peace.
Also, the Federal Government was advised to formulate a sustainable plan to end militancy rather than the confrontational approaches so far adopted.
Moving a motion on the floor on Wednesday on the need for an improved funding for the amnesty programme and a suitable strategic plan to end militancy in the Niger Delta, Ekpenyong Ayi, noted that the N20 billion proposed by the FG was inadequate to sustain the payment of stipends of N25,000 to ex agitators, pay in training allowances, tuition fees and other commitments.
He argued that the incessant attacks on oil facilities has led to Nigeria losing its place as Africa’s largest oil producer because its oil output has fallen to a 22 year low of 1.4 million barrels per day against the budgetary target of 2.2mbpd.
This massive cut from the proposed N55bn of the amnesty office has threatened the sustainability of the Amnesty programme. This has led to a resurgence of militancy, as the militants are being owed arrears of stipends which has in turned to slump in oil production, the lawmaker said.
Ayi noted that the attacks have negatively impacted on electricity output in the country, as thermal power stations are reliant on gas to power the turbines.
