Niger Delta Leaders Reject Govt Peace Summit

Grassroots leaders from Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta have rejected the federal government’s plan for a stakeholders’ summit to resolve the oil rich region’s problems. According to an influential Ogoni Community leader, Lidum Mitte, similar summits held in the past have never yielded any concrete solutions to the region’s problems. Mitte and his fellow community elders insist that the summit will be a waste of time and resources, saying only political will from the federal government can resolve the crisis in the restive region. Nigerian President Umau Yar’Adua has personally supported the upcoming summit, which seeks to resolve a longstanding standoff between local residents and oil multinationals. [PE]