By Dipo Olowookere
The Federal Government has maintained that it would continue to dialogue with aggrieved groups in the Niger Delta region of the country with a view to finding a lasting solution to restiveness in the region.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, expressed optimism that very soon, the security challenges in the area would soon be a thing of the past.
Speaking via a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, Mr Kachikwu appealed to all stakeholders in the region to embrace peace and dialogue and shun acts that further create difficulties for the country as well as impoverish and worsen the ecological problems of the region.
In the statement signed by the Petroleum Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Idang Alibi, the Minister condemned the three attacks that occurred in the last two weeks, including Wednesday’s Forcados bombing, in spite of efforts being made to promote peace in the region.
Mr Kachikwu expressed his frustration over this saying, “I condemn these wanton attacks and reiterate that the path to providing lasting solutions to the Niger Delta challenges remains dialogue.”
He appealed to the militants to stop all acts of aggression and give the ongoing dialogue a chance to birth peace in the region.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya