Last September, Nigerian Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, inaugurated a 40-man panel of former ministers, activists and academics to consider ways to end the unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The committee has released its report, highlights:

• Allocate 25% of oil revenue to build Niger Delta infrastructure
• open trial and release of Henry Okah, leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militant group.
• Completion of the East-West Road with spurs to coastline
• Payment of outstanding statutory funds owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
• Disarming process for youths involved in militancy through creating the enabling environment and establishment of a credible Decommissioning, Disarmament and Rehabilitation (DDR) process
• Establishment of a Youth Employment Scheme (YES) that will employ at least 2,000 youths in each local government of the Niger Delta states.

“The lack of political will on the part of federal and state governments has been responsible for the escalation of the Niger Delta crisis,” the panel’s chairman, Ledum Mitee, said before presenting the conclusions to President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Sources: Reuters, Nigerian Guardian.

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