Some stakeholders in the Niger Delta have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to urgently begin fresh engagement with key figures in the region over growing tension and fears of possible instability.
The appeal was made by a group operating under the name Niger Delta Advocate for Good Governance, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Initiative, which warned that emerging disputes in the region should not be ignored if the Federal Government truly wants to preserve the fragile peace that has been maintained over the years.
In a statement signed by its convener, Engr. Captain Momoh Royal Erickson, after a high-level meeting in Abuja, the group urged the presidency to immediately open channels of dialogue with respected peace advocates, former mediators, and influential stakeholders who played critical roles during the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
According to the group, involving those who understand the region’s delicate political and security balance would help prevent avoidable tension from escalating into a wider crisis.
The stakeholders specifically urged President Tinubu to also consult elder statesmen and other notable voices in the Niger Delta, arguing that many of them contributed significantly to the peace process that helped reduce militancy and restore a measure of calm in the oil-rich region.
One of the key proposals from the group was the immediate creation of a Presidential Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in the Niger Delta.
According to them, such a committee would serve as a structured platform for dialogue, bringing together all relevant actors to discuss and resolve fresh grievances before they spiral out of control.
The group said one of the emerging flashpoints is the growing controversy surrounding pipeline surveillance contracts, warning that if such issues are not handled with sensitivity and transparency, they could reopen old wounds and trigger renewed militancy in the region.
That warning is not a small one.
The Niger Delta has a long history of unrest tied to resource control, exclusion, oil politics, and perceived injustice. So when stakeholders begin to openly raise concerns about unresolved disputes and possible instability, it is something the Federal Government should take seriously.
The group stressed that the region has come too far in its peace journey to allow political disputes, leadership ego, or economic interests to drag it backwards.
They also issued a word of caution to some traditional rulers in Delta State, urging them to avoid public statements capable of worsening division or increasing ethnic and political tension.
According to the statement, traditional institutions should be seen as stabilising forces at a time like this, not as voices that deepen conflict or fuel local rivalries.
The stakeholders maintained that what the Niger Delta needs at this point is not confrontation, but responsible leadership, inclusive dialogue, and proactive conflict management.
Their broader message was clear: peace in the Niger Delta should not be taken for granted.
And if the government waits until tensions fully explode before acting, it may once again be forced to manage a crisis that could have been prevented.