OBASANJO VISITS WARRI; HOLDS MEETING WITH WARRING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001635

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2013
TAGS: PGOV EPET PINS NI
SUBJECT: OBASANJO VISITS WARRI; HOLDS MEETING WITH WARRING
ETHNIC GROUPS



1. (SBU) According to press reports and Warri contacts,
President Obasanjo traveled to Warri the morning of September
19 for an aerial tour of the violence-affected areas in the
Warri creeks and a meeting with elders and youth leaders of
the three ethnic groups in the area.



2. (SBU) Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) spoke by
telephone with Daniel Reyenieju, President of the Itsekiri
National Youth Council, who attended the three-hour meeting
with Obasanjo. Reyenieju claimed that the President first
toured the Warri creeks by helicopter after arriving from
Abuja in the morning. Shortly after noon, Obasanjo hosted a
meeting with representatives of the three ethnic groups --
Uhrobo, Ijaw and Itsekiri -- at the Petroleum Training
Institute in Effurun, close to Warri town. Chief Oyomike
lead the Itsekiri group of 12, which included Reyenieju and
one other Itsekiri youth leader. Chief Mamu stood in for
Chief E.K. Clark (who is in the U.S.) in leading the Ijaw
delegation, which included the president of the militant
group FNDIC, Bello Oboko. FNDIC Advisor Dan Ekpedibe
confirmed Oboko's attendance in a separate phone conversation
with CRO.



3. (SBU) According to Reyenieju, each ethnic delegation gave
a full presentation of its position on the current fighting.
Obasanjo responded with an appeal that all sides sustain the
ongoing ceasefire and have faith in two federal government
committees working to address Warri's problems -- the Warri
Conflict Committee chaired by former Defense Minister T.Y.
Danjuma and the LGA Reform Committee chaired by Liman Ciroma.
The President reportedly commented on his overflight of the
war-torn areas of Warri that morning by saying he was "not
happy with the extent of damage" he saw among villages and
oil installations. Obasanjo highlighted the seriousness of
the theft of oil or "bunkering" occurring in the Warri area,
but downplayed the Nigerian military's "Operation Restore
Hope." The Itsekiri leader claimed that the President
eschewed a redefinition of Local Government Areas (LGAs) in
the Warri region as the solution to the current crisis, which
was the solution advocated by the Ijaw and Uhrobo
delegations. The Itsekiri delegation instead called for the
Government to enforce existing law in the region.



4. (C) Comment: Press reports that this is only the second
visit by Obasanjo as President to Warri (the last in 1999
after a similar but smaller outbreak of fighting) seem
accurate and underscore its significance. The surprise visit
reflects the Presidency's growing concern over lost revenues
from the six month-old shutdown of production as well as the
serious loss of life three weeks ago. The federal government
continues a two-track approach to the crisis: attempting to
negotiate a peace through allusions to political reforms in
the area while hinting at a harsh military crackdown if any
persist in fighting.
MEECE