We’re negotiating with Niger Delta militants, Buhari confirms

President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed that his administration is talking to Niger Delta militants through oil companies and law-enforcement agencies to find a lasting solution to the insecurity in the region.

Speaking at a farewell audience with Mr. Michael Zinner, the outgoing Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria at the State House, Buhari said that government was studying the instruments of the Amnesty Programme inherited from the previous administration with a view to carrying out commitments made that were undelivered.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, yesterday quoted the President as saying “We understand their feelings. We are studying the instruments. We have to secure the environment, otherwise investment will not come. We will do our best for the country.”

The President thanked the government of Germany for its continuing support to Nigeria in the efforts to tackle insecurity and the on-going rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced citizens in crisis areas in the North-Eastern part of the country.

President Buhari also thanked Nigeria’s neighbours for their firm and unflinching support in the war against terror.The outgoing German ambassador noted that bilateral relations between Nigeria and Germany “had improved very much in the last 12 months of this administration.”

He expressed the readiness of Germany to assist Nigeria in the rehabilitation process in the North East to help the displaced persons return to their villages. He also expressed the eagerness of German businesses to invest in the country, now that “conditions for investment have been put in place”.The envoy reiterated the standing invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel to President Buhari to visit Germany.