Obasanjo’s Delta policy slammed

LAGOS – Nigeria’s Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Olusegun Obasanjo of buying arms to suppress unrest in the oil-rich Niger delta rather than pacifying the region with development, his aides said Wednesday.

“Just a few weeks ago, this government approved US$2 billion, not to develop the Niger delta, but to buy arms to suppress the people of the region,” Abubakar was quoted as telling a campaign rally in the federal capital Abuja on Tuesday. “If we channel this kind of amount into development of the Niger delta, nobody in the region will want to carry arms,” he added.The vice president, who has been embroiled in a long-running corruption row with Obasanjo, has quit the ruling party for the opposition Action Congress where he hopes to contest the April 21 presidential polls.The inhabitants of the delta complain that while their region generates 95 per cent of the country’s foreign currency earnings, they have little to show for this in terms of development or living standards.Angered by the situation, several separatist groups have in the past year taken up arms against oil firms and personnel to push for a greater share of Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for the local people.Last year alone, more than 60 foreigners, mostly oil workers, were kidnapped, and dozens of Nigerians were killed by militants and bandits.Some 40 expatriate workers are currently being held hostage in the swamps of the restive region by armed men.Nampa-AFP”If we channel this kind of amount into development of the Niger delta, nobody in the region will want to carry arms,” he added.The vice president, who has been embroiled in a long-running corruption row with Obasanjo, has quit the ruling party for the opposition Action Congress where he hopes to contest the April 21 presidential polls.The inhabitants of the delta complain that while their region generates 95 per cent of the country’s foreign currency earnings, they have little to show for this in terms of development or living standards.Angered by the situation, several separatist groups have in the past year taken up arms against oil firms and personnel to push for a greater share of Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for the local people.Last year alone, more than 60 foreigners, mostly oil workers, were kidnapped, and dozens of Nigerians were killed by militants and bandits.Some 40 expatriate workers are currently being held hostage in the swamps of the restive region by armed men.Nampa-AFP