Stop pipeline vandalism, Osinbajo begs militants

VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to Niger Delta militants to cease the destruction of oil pipelines as it was doing more harm than good to the people they were meant to serve.

He observed in Abuja on Tuesday that it was strange for people to sabotage what was meant for their own benefit.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of Urhobo leaders at the Presidential Villa, Osinbajo said: “So much damage is being done, governments will come and go, but these damages will ultimately destroy people’s livelihoods, aspirations and their future.”

“Nobody else anywhere in the world will destroy the facilities meant to help them, there is no benefit whatsoever from the destruction.”

While maintaining that the Buhari administration would continue its outreach to leaders and groups in the Niger Delta in seeking peaceful solution to the crisis, Osinbajo called for understanding, especially on the part of the leaders of the region stressing that destruction and damage “does not lead to anything good.”

Regarding the opened channels of communication and negotiation with the Niger Delta leaders and representatives, the Vice President assured that President Muhammadu Buhari would keep to his word.

Welcoming the delegation from the Urhobo leaders of thought led by its president, Chief Tuesday Onoge, and the APC’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2015 elections, Olorogun Ortega Emerhor, Osinbajo commended the leadership and understanding of the Urhobo Leaders of Thought.

Earlier in his comments, Chief Onoge lamented that if the money sent to the Niger Delta in the last 16 years were judiciously spent, the people of the region would have benefitted. He then asked rhetorically “What happened to these monies?

Pledging support to the Federal Government, the leader of the delegation said the group condemns the vandalisation of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta in its entirety and offered to assist in furthering peace in the area.

He also stated that the group supported the anti-corruption efforts of the Buhari administration.