Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said in Davos, Switzerland
on Thursday that the recent violence on oil facilities and
abduction of four oilmen in the country's Niger Delta did not
amount to having a crisis in its oil industry.
According to the official News Agency of Nigeria, Obasanjo said
his government was already taking effective steps to contain the
situation in the delta region, where the majority of Nigeria's oil
is produced.
"I do not believe that our oil industry is under threat. This is
an aberration. It will come and go. There is an element of
terrorism in this and you cannot say we should give in to
terrorism," Obasanjo was quoted as saying.
He said his administration was fully aware of the global
importance of the hydrocarbon resources of the Niger Delta and the
Gulf of Guinea and would do everything possible to guarantee their
security.
The president said although his government was in contact with
the militant group claiming responsibility for recent criminal acts
in the Niger Delta, it had not offered them any "deal."
On January 11, four foreigners working for Royal Dutch Shell
were taken hostage by an armed group in the Niger Delta region.
Local officials had expressed optimism that the four could be
released this week.
Nigeria is the biggest oil producer in Africa with a daily
output of 2.5 million barrels, while Shell accounts for half of the
country's oil production, but the situation in the country's oil
regions in the south is turbulent.
In the oil-rich Niger Delta, local people accuse oil majors of
caring about only extracting oil and doing little to help them
develop the area. As a result, they frequently attack oil
facilities and commit other forms of violence to blackmail the oil
companies operating in the area.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)
