Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson has appealed to the federal government not to adopt forceful measures against the Niger Delta militants in a bid to quell the violent attacks on oil and gas installations in the area.

Recall that the Nigeria Army said it would employ force as the last option to resolve the matter between the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA and the government should the option of dialogue fail.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding 82 Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru at the commissioning of a modern 2 Brigade headquarter complex with an Olympic size swimming pool in Port Harcourt made the disclosure.

He said: “Government is still committed to dialogue and whereby this cannot go on – then there could be resort to other means. The non-kinetic (force) means has always been the source first before government can recourse to the kinetic means. “So, there is need for the Niger Delta Avengers to see reason and dialogue with government”.

But speaking to State House Correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, governor Dickson said dialogue remained the best measure.

Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward”, he said.

The governor who said he had some security related discussions with the president also thanked Buhari for standing neutral in the recent governorship election in Bayelsa as well as in the tribunal petitions which he won.

Dickson called on the President to disregard the verbal attacks on his person during the elections and urged his opponents to join hands with him in moving the state forward.