Abuja—The Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, has urged stakeholders in the Niger Delta to support the Federal Government’s post-amnesty programme to maintain stability in the region.

Such support, the guild said, was necessary to frustrate any resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.

The call was contained in a statement issued at the end of the guild’s sixth All Nigerian Conference of Editors in Port Harcourt, in Abuja on Sunday.

Signed by NGE’s President and Secretary, Messrs Gbenga Adefaye and John Ndukauba, the editors pledged to treat all persons pursuing legitimate demands for justice and equity in the region through legal means with understanding.

They commended President Goodluck Jonathan for signing the Local Content Bill into law and for setting up the Local Content Monitoring Board.

They urged the media to publicise the provisions of the law and the activities of the board, adding that the law provided opportunities for empowerment of Nigerians in the oil and gas sector.
They stressed the need for transparency, accountability and probity in the allocation and use of oil and gas resources.

This, they believed, would engender growth and development and eliminate restiveness in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

The conference noted the contributions of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, in ensuring transparency in extractive industries and urged the government to give the agency more powers to sanction defaulters.

It criticised the over-dependence on oil and advised the government to develop other sources of revenue such as solid minerals and agriculture.

It requested the government to take measures to ensure that international oil companies operated within acceptable standards and acquired appropriate technology in enforcing payment of appropriate taxes and royalties.

On the Freedom of Information, FoI, Bill before the National Assembly, the editors re-echoed their earlier demand for the passage of the bill to allow people to hold the government accountable.

They called on relevant authorities to take concrete steps to alleviate poverty in the society, noting that “poverty is pervasive across the country.”