on the platform of Pan Niger Delta Forum, to find out the root causes of the crises in the region.
He said the meeting with the stakeholders in the region would now be held quarterly, stressing that crude oil production has risen to as high as 2.1 million barrels per day, owing to the preliminary negotiations and scaling down of hostilities by militants in the region.
Also addressing journalists, Chief Clark said those who attended the meeting had the blessings of militant groups, including the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to represent their interests.
“It was largely a courtesy call to bring to the front burner the issues of the Niger Delta and the concerns. And we spent time hearing from the Niger Delta Leaders in terms of their areas of concern and what they believe the federal government should do to bring down pressure and stress in the area and to bring down militancy to the barest minimum if not eliminated.
“It was fairly good, fairly civilized dialogue between all the parties. I did make a speech in terms of what the federal government direction should be. The President gave his ideas in terms of what his thought processes were. I think it is a frank conversation. It is the beginning of a process.
“We had over a hundred representatives. So, it was a very well attended function. Opinions given were very honest, very frank to the point. But I think at the end of the day, we exchanged enough thought processes to go back to the drawing board to begin a process of work,” he said.
The meeting was attended by governors of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo and deputy governor of Rivers state and the Ministers of Justice, Transport, Interior, Justice, Transport, Niger Delta Affairs, Budget and National Planning, Minister of State for Health and the chairmen of Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Upstream and Downstream.
Others are the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Inspector General of Police, Director General of the State Security Service and leaders from the region including Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, Nkoyo Toyo, Seminatri Bozimo, Roland Owei, Tony Uranta, Timi Alaibe and Ledum Mitee.
Also speaking at different forum, President Buhari said political and social stability are key factors that attract and cause investments to thrive anywhere in the world.
Receiving Mr. Harry Kalaba, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy of the President of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, yesterday at State House in Abuja, the President said he was happy to hear that Nigerian investors operated in good number in the Zambian economy.
“Business people are shrewd, and would check and double check, before investing their resources in any country,” he said.
The President congratulated President Lungu on his victory for a second term in office in August 2016, saying “elections are not always easy in Africa.’’
In his remarks, the Special Envoy, Harry Kalaba, said Zambia admired Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa, and would love to collaborate more with the country.
“The true African spirit is shown by Nigeria, and she firmly believes that Africa needs cohesion to emancipate. Only a stable Nigeria is good for Africa,” he said.
According to him, Zambia stands with Nigeria in the war against insurgency, ‘‘and will always be willing to lend a hand.’’