Nigeria election: Militants threaten recession if president re-elected

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A militant group in Nigeria's oil-rich southern Niger Delta threatened on Thursday to cripple the economy if President Muhammadu Buhari is re-elected on Saturday.

The Niger Delta Avengers - who want their area to get a greater share of the oil revenue it produces - said they backed opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar and his promises to devolve more power to the regions.

The militant group was believed to be behind a 2016 wave of violence, including attacks on pipelines and other facilities, that helped push Nigeria into recession.

The group, in a statement posted on its website, warned that if Buhari is re-elected there would be "a perpetual recession for Nigeria."

Buhari later made a televised address promising that the government would ensure a free, fair and peaceful vote, without making any reference to the Avengers' statement. His spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Attacks in the Niger Delta in 2016 cut Nigeria's crude output from a peak of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) to near one mbpd - the lowest level seen in Africa's biggest economy in at least 30 years.

That, combined with low oil prices, pushed the OPEC member state into its first recession in a quarter of a century – crude sales make up two-thirds of government revenue and 90 percent of its foreign exchange.

No substantial attacks have been carried out since January 2017, however, after Buhari's government held talks with the militants about their grievances over poverty and oil pollution in the Delta.

(Cover: Supporters of Nigerian opposition People's Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar attend a campaign rally in Jimeta, Adamawa State, February 14, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters