VZCZCXRO1451
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0129/01 0761007
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171007Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0599
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0214
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0008
RUEHOR/AMEMBASSY GABORONE 0065
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH AFB UK
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000129 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/EX AND INR/AA 
STATE PASS TO USTR-AGAMA 
BAGHDAD FOR MCCULLOUGH 
BOTSWANA FOR DROUIN 
TREASURY FOR PETERS AND HALL 
DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS 
USAID/AFR/WA FOR TWAY, USAID/AFR/SD JHILL, AND UNSAID/EGAT 
MOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON KCOR KCRM SENV EPET NI
SUBJECT: NIGER DELTA TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WARNS FAILURE TO 
IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS UNDERMINES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S 
CREDIBILITY 
 
REF: A. LAGOS 14 
     ¶B. 08 ABUJA 1951 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Niger Delta Technical Committee Report, 
submitted to President Yar 'Adua on December 1, 2008, 
reviewed 14 previous reports on the Niger Delta, and made 
recommendations to solve the long-standing crisis there. 
(Note: the report has not yet been made public and Post's 
analysis is based on a copy provided confidentially by one of 
the Committee members. End Note.) The report highlighted the 
fact that most of the problems and solutions for the Niger 
Delta have been identified for decades and that the failure 
to implement past recommendations has led to increasing 
frustration with and seriously undermined the credibility of 
the Federal Government. The committee broke down their 
recommendations into two parts: 1) a "Compact with 
Stakeholders" which amounts to a catalogue of immediate 
measures to restore the credibility of the GON and establish 
confidence in the process, and 2) all other recommended 
measures. The report identifies not only the tasks that need 
to be carried out but the time-frame and the appropriate 
institution for implementing each recommendation. The report 
is concise, comprehensive and cogent, providing an excellent 
framework for addressing the complex problems in the Niger 
Delta. There is, however, no indication that its 
recommendations will be implemented any better than past 
recommendations. End Summary. 
 
Technical Committee Report Complete but not Public 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Niger Delta Technical Committee (NDTC) was 
formed by the GON on September 8 to review all past reports 
on the situation in the Niger Delta and make recommendations 
on how to solve the on-going crisis. The 45 members of the 
Committee elected Ledum Mittee, the President of the Movement 
for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), to chair the 
committee. The NDTC reviewed 14 previous reports going back 
to 1958 and 10 petitions from ethnic groups from the Niger 
Delta requesting assistance and redress of the situation in 
the region. The NDTC also requested submissions from the 
public, conducted meetings with stakeholders, made visits to 
the area and met with leaders of militant camps in order to 
develop a comprehensive picture of the situation in the Niger 
Delta today. The NDTC established eight subcommittees which 
focused on the particular areas of concern: 1) 
infrastructure, 2) health and education, 3) economic 
development and regional planning, 4) environment, 
sustainable development and corporate responsibility, 5) 
governance and the rule of law, 6) community, youth and women 
empowerment, 7) resource ownership, management and 
distribution and 8) conflict, militancy and demobilization. 
The results of the Committee's analysis and its 
recommendations were compiled in a report submitted to the 
Federal Government on December 1, 2008, but not yet released 
to the public. Post obtained a confidential copy of the 
report from one of the committee members. 
 
No Implementation of Recommendations from Previous Reports 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The NDTC noted that going back to the 1958 report of 
Sir Henry Willinks, a Queen's Counsel appointed by the 
Colonial Office, nearly all analyses broadly identify 
development challenges and the need to involve local 
communities in the ethnically diverse region in that 
development. By 1992, the report of Supreme Court Justice 
Alfa Belgore blamed the increasing unrest in the region on 
"neglect" by the Federal Government and recommended 
 
LAGOS 00000129  002 OF 003 
 
 
substantial investments in development in the region starting 
with major infrastructure projects. In 1994, a high-profile 
team sent by General Sani Abacha concluded that the 
grievances of the local inhabitants were "well founded" and 
specifically mentioned the "dangerously high unemployment" in 
the region. By 1998, General Oladayo Popoola reported that 
unemployed youth were prone to criminal activities and that 
what had been legitimate community protests about conditions 
were becoming increasingly criminalized. The Niger Delta 
Human Development Report of the UNDP in 2006 cited "high 
unemployment," "abject poverty," "corruption," "endemic 
conflict" and "rampant human rights abuses" among other 
factors as the principal problems of the Niger Delta. In 
general, deterioration in infrastructure and stability is 
recorded along with a slide toward ever greater poverty, 
environmental degradation, crime and violence in the series 
of reports issued with increasing frequency by respected 
national and international groups. The NDTC stresses that 
although many of the recommendations were made by committees 
explicitly established by previous Heads of State with the 
mandate to "solve" the crisis, virtually none of the 
recommendations have been implemented. The NDTC notes that 
this has led to growing frustration with and falling 
credibility of the GON. 
 
Immediate Action Required 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The NDTC divided their recommendations into two 
parts, a so-called "Compact with Stakeholders" that is a 
catalogue of immediate measures designed to restore the 
credibility of the GON and build confidence in the process, 
and all the remaining recommendations old and new. The key 
feature of the Compact with Stakeholders is complete 
transparency of the process including the publication of 
milestones and deadlines against which progress can be 
measured. The most important milestones recommended are 1) 
increase the allocation accruing from oil and gas to the oil 
producing states from the current 12 per cent to 25 per cent, 
2) declare a cease-fire with all armed groups in the region 
backed by clear conditions for amnesty within the next six 
months, 3) improve the operational effectiveness of the Joint 
Task Force (JTF) to eliminate all forms of abuse and to 
enable effective policing against criminals, 4) establish a 
direct labor "Youth Employment Scheme" to employ youths in 
community work in each Local Government Area in the nine 
oil-producing states within six months, 5) complete the 
expansion to four lanes of the East-West road from Lagos to 
Calabar by June 2010, 6) ensure 5,000 MW of dedicated power 
to the Niger Delta by June 2010, 7) enforce the existing 
environmental laws including putting an immediate end to gas 
flaring, and require international oil companies (IOCs) to 
carry environmental insurance, 8)rehabilitate all existing 
health care facilities in the region and provide free health 
care to all children under the age of five, pregnant women, 
and all people over the age of 65, and 9) rehabilitate and 
equip all existing primary and secondary schools. 
 
Disarm, Develop, Govern, Protect the Environment 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Remaining recommendations are divided into topical 
groups and then assigned to the various actors, including the 
Federal, State and Local Area Governments, the Niger Delta 
Development Commission (NDDC), IOCs, foreign aid donors and 
private industry. The recommendations are divided within each 
category and responsibility by time frame into short, mid and 
long-term goals. The topical groups are: Disarmament, 
Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), Governance, Regional 
 
LAGOS 00000129  003 OF 003 
 
 
Development, Environment and Human Capital Development. Key 
recommendations with respect to DDR are: 1) establish a 
credible commission, 2) ensure a public and fair trial for 
alleged illegal arms-dealer Henry Okah, 3) grant amnesty to 
all willing to lay down their arms, 4) exclude from amnesty 
and criminalize anyone unwilling to take part in the DDR 
process, 5) equip and train the security forces in peace 
enforcement and punish abuses, and 6) halt illegal bunkering. 
With respect to governance, the NDTC recommends that the 
following laws be amended or repealed: Territorial Waters 
Act, Land Use Act, Oil Pipelines Act, Nigerian Minerals and 
Mining Act, National Inland Waterways Authority Act. In 
addition, the NDTC recommends reviewing Section 44 (3) of the 
1999 Constitution. The key thrust of the recommendations with 
regard to regional development is to diversify the economy of 
the region away from dependence on oil and natural gas. In 
addition, the dredging of waterways and construction of 
infrastructure are seen as crucial to development. The key 
environmental recommendations are to end the flaring and 
enforce the existing environmental laws. In addition, the 
NDTC Report recommends requiring "environmental impact 
statements" for all new projects, and advocates setting aside 
funds to research the health impact of oil and gas pollution 
as well as the potential effects of Climate Change on the 
Niger Delta. With respect to Human Capital Development, the 
report recommends the rehabilitation of all heath and 
education facilities located in the Niger Delta and the 
establishment of a teaching hospital in Bayelsa State among 
other measures. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: The report is concise, comprehensive and 
cogent, providing an excellent framework for addressing the 
complex problems in the Niger Delta. Particularly, impressive 
is the willingness to identify the appropriate actors for 
addressing specific tasks. Equally positive is the 
willingness to make bold recommendations and set deadlines. 
Some of the suggestions, such as the direct employment of 
youth at the Local Government Area in a Youth Employment 
Scheme appear readily implementable without vast budgets; 
however, others like the provision of 5,000 MW of dedicated 
electricity by June 2010 and immediate cessation of gas 
flaring are clearly illusory. More to the point, there is no 
indication that the recommendations of the NDTC will be 
implemented. It seems more likely that the NDTC Report will 
suffer the same fate as all 14 of its predecessors and 
contribute more to the frustration felt by stakeholders than 
to the solution of the crisis. End Comment. 
 
¶7. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja. 
BLAIR