N/Delta amnesty saved Nigeria N6trn in 2011 - Kuku

Curled from Nigerian Tribune:


THE Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta and Chief Executive of the Federal Government Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta Ex-agitators, Honourable Kingsley Kuku, said in Abuja on Monday that the implementation of the amnesty programme for Niger Delta ex-militants saved the nation N6 trillion last year.
Briefing reporters as part of activities marking the third anniversary of the programme, Kuku recalled that the violent activities of the ex-militants disrupted oil production in the Niger Delta which lowered production at the peak of the agitation in 2009.
He said, “today, under the watch and able guidance of President Jonathan, the tranquility in the once restive Niger Delta has led to an astronomic growth in the nation’s economy.
“From a paltry production level of 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day at the peak of the Niger Delta crisis in the first quarter of 2009, Nigeria currently produces between 2.4 and 2.6 million barrels per day.
“To further underscore the fact that the proclamation of amnesty for former agitators in the Niger Delta as well as the successful management of the post-amnesty programme saved the economy of our great nation from a looming collapse, some clarifications may be necessary:
With Nigeria producing as of today between 2.4 and 2.6 million barrels of crude oil per day as against the abysmally low between 700,000 and 800,000 barrels per day at the peak of the Niger Delta crisis in January 2009, the nation and its Joint Venture Partners are currently making production savings of up to 1.9 million barrels per day.
“When computed with prevailing exchange rate of about N160 to $1, daily production savings for Nigeria and the JV partners currently stand at a minimum of N33.4 billion per day.
“Given that oil production in Nigeria hovered between 2.4 and 2.6 barrels for all of 2011, it would be safe to emphatically assert that savings for Nigeria and the JV partners for year ending 2011 is estimated to be a whopping N6 trillion,” Kuku asserted.
Going down memory lane, he said, “but the peace in the Niger Delta did not come on a platter of gold. Rather it was a product of dialogue, patriotism and tenacity.”