Gov Dickson says Military Action Can’t Stop Niger Delta Militancy

The Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday maintained that deployment of the military to Niger Delta would not quell militancy in the region.

The military had threatened to use force if dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other militant groups in the region fail to yield the desired results.

But speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Dickson said the only way out of the crisis is dialogue and negotiations.

The governor said the terrain and history of the Niger Delta region ‎had shown the futility of any military invasion.

He said: “I have said that on the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward. ‎

“For us who are products of political system and who are at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leadership. We also have a duty to support the work the intelligence and security agencies are doing and we have a duty to ensure that issues are better appreciated and we fill the communication gap.

“And where there are issues those issues need be addressed. It is also our duty to network like I’m doing to ensure that problems that are identified as the main cause of some of these challenges are looked into.

“The military solutions as I have always maintained is not the right option. We are hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations and dialogue as the sustainable way forward.

“Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward.”