Nigerian rebels want amnesty meeting with president

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, June 26 (Reuters) - Four Nigerian militant groups said on Friday they wanted to meet President Umaru Yar'Adua before accepting his amnesty offer.

Yar'Adua on Thursday offered a presidential pardon to gunmen in the Niger Delta during a 60-day period ending on Oct. 4 in a bid to end years of unrest which have cost the OPEC member billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Spokesmen for the four militant groups said they wanted to meet Yar'Adua to "reach a consensus" on the amnesty programme and ways to move forward in developing the Niger Delta region, home to Africa's largest oil and gas sector.

"We accept peace as encapsulated in the said offer of amnesty," representatives of Ateke Tom, Soboma George, Farah Dagogo and Boy Loaf told a news conference in Nigeria's oil hub Port Harcourt.

"Depending on the outcome of the said meeting, the leaders will then announce when they will begin to hand over the arms and ammunitions in their possession to the federal government," they said.

The four groups, who have close links to the main militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said they also wanted the government to release suspected rebel leader Henry Okah who is on trial for gun-running and treason. (Reporting by Austin Ekeinde and Camillus Eboh; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Tume Ahemba and Robert Woodward)