U.N.'s Gambari seeks truce with Nigerian militants

ABUJA (Reuters) - A senior U.N. official appointed byNigeria to help end unrest in the oil-producing Niger Deltasaid on Tuesday he would seek a 90-day truce with militants asa first step towards formal peace talks.

Ibrahim Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister who isa special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, wasappointed by President Umaru Yar'Adua to prepare a long-awaitedsummit meant to address the root causes of the violence.

The bombing of pipelines and kidnapping of oil workers inthe Niger Delta, whose oil output makes Nigeria the world'seighth biggest exporter, have cut production by a fifth sinceearly 2006, helping to push world oil prices to record highs.

"We will hold thorough consultations in the creeks with themilitants and stakeholders in the Niger Delta so that we canhave a truce that will last for at least 90 days to create anatmosphere for the summit," Gambari said after meetingYar'Adua.

"This summit will be different from the others. It will bea comprehensive approach to the problems of the Niger Delta,"he said, speaking publicly for the first time since hisappointment.

Gambari said Yar'Adua would announce more details soon onthe venue and the date for the summit, first scheduled to beheld almost a year ago. The president said earlier this monththat it would take place in July.

Five decades of oil extraction by international firms havepolluted the land and water of the Niger Delta, a network ofswampy creeks in southern Nigeria.

Villagers live in abject poverty while corrupt politiciansand criminal gangs grow rich from a lucrative trade in stolencrude, complicating efforts to pacify the region.

SPLINTER GROUPS

Yar'Adua came to power just over a year ago promising toengage the Niger Delta militants, but the peace process hasmade little real progress since then.

The main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipationof the Niger Delta (MEND), carried out its most daring attackto date on Thursday, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shutproduction at Bonga, its main Nigerian offshore oilfield.

MEND announced a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday but hasstopped short of agreeing to participate in the peace summit,saying it will only do so if Henry Okah -- one of its leaderson trial for treason and gun-running -- is allowed to attend.

Another group -- the Ijaw Youth Council, which has heldtalks with the government in the past -- has also said it willnot take part.

Some analysts doubt the summit will achieve much given thefragmented nature of the militants and the lack of a cohesivestrategy among Nigeria's federal, state and local governments.Previous attempts at peace talks have had little impact.

"From what the president told me, our steering committee isgoing to be given a free hand and will be independent ... Ourcommittee will focus on analysing the previous efforts, whythey failed," Gambari said.

The Movement for the Restoration of Niger Delta Struggle(MORNDS), a little-known group which claimed it was behind anattack on a Shell pipeline at Awoba in the delta last month,added its voice to the list of sceptics on Tuesday.

"(We) implore our elders and every other stakeholder in theregion to steer clear of the inglorious and discredited summit... The Niger Delta people want implementation and not summitsanymore," it said in a statement.

(Writing and additional reporting by Nick Tattersall;Editing by Randy Fabi)