FG, PANDEF agree on amnesty, modular refineries

National coordinator of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark has said the forum and the Federal Government agreed on a number of issues during a meeting last week.

Members of PANDEF had met Acting President Yemi Osinbajo after issuing an ultimatum to pull out of a peace deal with the government if its demands on the Niger Delta are not met.

Speaking with Vanguard, Clark said PANDEF was impressed by the explanation given by the acting President on the issues raised.

He said, “The meeting was successful, we saw in Osinbajo an honest man, we saw his commitment to the development of the region as he spoke, we had a very long discussion on the 16-point demand and we restated that we want dialogue.

[Read Also: Niger Delta: Edwin Clark, PANDEF meet Osinbajo]

“And I am sure that very soon, government will look into it, I must say that we were very impressed with the Acting President’s explanation on the issues raised.

“Take the relocation of the International Oil Companies, IOCs to their operational centers, he told us there was no going back on it and that the directive was given to create confidence among the people.

“On the modular refinery, he agreed with us that what we said the purpose should be to create opportunities for the communities, youths and the illegal refinery operators. We told him that we hope that it is not for commercial purpose only, that the people have to be involved to reap the benefits.

“We discussed many things, including the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, how it should be funded for better result, ensuring that the products are able to get job.

[Read Also: Edwin Clark withdraws ultimatum given to FG]

“We also discussed the Nigeria Maritime University, NMU, Okerenkoko, Delta State and he told us that it was possible for it to start this year, disclosing that he has been meeting with principal officers of the university and there were things to be cleared concerning the master plan, some buildings that have to be readjusted and all that.

“We also discussed Bakassi, in fact, we touched on almost all the problems and we told him that we do not accept the two-year Strategic Implementation Work Plan, SWIP. He promised that PANDEF will be fully participating in future meetings of the inter-ministerial committee.”

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