President Muhammadu Buhari has stepped up efforts to find a lasting solution to the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta by holding a private meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday night at his residence in Aso Rock, Abuja.

As a follow up to the meeting with Jonathan, Buhari also met with former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday at the Presidential Villa.

The meeting with Obasanjo came on the heels of fresh attack on Forcados pipeline by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

The destruction of oil facilities in the region by the militants had crippled Nigeria’s crude oil production and power supply, with crude production recovering from a loss of 1.1 million barrels per day to about 1.6 million barrels per day. By yesterday, power generation had dropped to 2,832.5MW.

A source very close to Jonathan said the former president’s meeting with Buhari lasted about 35 minutes and focused mainly on how to get the Niger Delta militants to agree to a ceasefire.

It was revealed that Buhari specifically requested Jonathan to intervene in the crisis.

Obasanjo arrived Aso Rock Villa yesterday in company of Otunba Johnson Fasawe at about 1pm.

His meeting with Buhari was held behind closed doors and the details were not made available to the media.

When Obasanjo emerged from Buhari’s office, he declined comments.

Credit: Thisday