(Ecofin Agency) - The Acting President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo (photo), has announced that the country will legalize illicit modular refineries in the Niger Delta oil hub by the end of this year and supply them with crude at a reasonable price. This he disclosed in a statement released on Thursday after a meeting with Niger Delta community leaders in Abuja.

According to Osinbajo, the move was aimed at fulfilling the demands of the community leaders. “The Federal Government has started the process of replacing illegal refineries in the region with modular ones,” he said.

He added that each of the states in Niger Delta would receive two modular refineries for start up in the fourth quarter.

It should be recalled that Niger Delta leaders on Monday threatened to withdraw from peace talks with the government if their demands were not met by November 1.

The Nigerian government has been in talks with the community leaders since last year to end attacks by militants on oil production facilities, which had weakened the country’s output by 700,000 barrels a day.

However, a military clampdown on thousands of illegal refineries, which process crude stolen from oil majors in the region, had raised tensions.

Last year November, the community leaders submitted a list of 16 demands to President Muhammadu Buhari, to bring the region out of poverty.

Anita Fatunji