Fayose Praises Buhari Over Negotiation With Niger Delta Avengers Militants

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for opting to negotiate with the Niger Delta militants, especially the Avengers and suspending military actions in the region.

The governor, however, said there must be a display of absolute sincerity from the Federal Government such that the militants would have trust in the process.

Fayose said, "The President must face the reality that democracy is about negotiation and concession."

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor maintained that “the Niger Delta region as of today is still the golden goose laying the golden eggs on which all other regions are surviving and it will be suicidal for military action to be sustained against the militants.”

Fayose had, last week, advised the President to dialogue with the Niger Delta militants. He said he's happy that “for the first time, the President took to his piece of advice and suspended military actions in the Niger Delta and opted to dialogue with the militants.”

He added, "If our daily crude oil production of 2.2m barrels per day had been sustained, Nigeria would have been having savings in the Excess Crude Account by now.

“Crude oil benchmark is $38 per barrel while oil is now being sold at $50 per barrel, meaning that we would have been having $12 per barrel saved in the Excess Crude Account.”