The Rivers State Government said on Wednesday said it would not accept the ceasefire declared by the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, Mr. Ateke Tom, until he and members of his group surrendered their weapons.

The Director of Press Affairs to the state Governor, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke, made the position of the government known to our correspondent in an interview with our correspondent in Port Harcourt.

Tom had early in the week announced that his group would not carry out new attacks on Port Harcourt or any other part of Rivers State.

He said that following an intervention by prominent leaders of Ijaw ethnic extraction, including Chief Edwin Clark, the decision on the ceasefire was reached.

But Nwuke said that although the ceasefire by the NDVM‘s leader was a step towards attaining peace in the state, the government would not enter into any negotiation with Tom while he was still keeping arms and ammunition.

The governor‘s aide lamented that the crisis by armed groups was having negative effects on the state‘s economy and had rubbished the genuine struggle for the development of the Niger Delta region.

He argued that since the beginning of the armed struggle, the region had not made any significant progress in addressing some of its problems, adding that instead of helping the people, the prolonged crisis was hurting them.

According to Nwuke, the possession of arms by NDVM was a serious threat to the defenceless people of the state, who get killed each time the group has a disagreement.

He called on armed groups in the state to come out and surrender their weapons to the government, adding that the state governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had promised to consider amnesty for them.

He maintained that no society could attain meaningful development in a state of crisis and that the slow development of the Niger Delta region was caused by youth restiveness and violence.

Nwuke said, ”The position of this government is that all armed groups should surrender their weapons to the government. In the case of Okrika youths, the governor even suggested that they could surrender their arms to the council of chiefs in their area.

”We hope that Tom and his men will take advantage of this gesture and come out and embrace peace, for the good of Rivers State and Nigeria. What has happened hurts the common people more than we think.”