Delays show fragility of Nigeria's oil delta amnesty

* Gov't delays rehabilitation programme for ex-militants

* Talks ongoing between president and rebels



By Austin Ekeinde

YENEGOA, Nigeria, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria has yet to begin the process of educating and reintegrating thousands of former militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta, prompting some to question their decision to lay down arms for clemency.

Amnesty centres in Rivers and Delta states were supposed to start orientation programmes last week for the first batch of former gunmen, Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, spokeswoman for the presidential panel on amnesty, said on Monday.

But the government and former militant leaders have yet to agree details of President Umaru Yar'Adua's post-amnesty programme, the most serious effort yet to end years of unrest that has battered Africa's biggest energy sector.

"We were supposed to call them into our centres last week, but we are still waiting for feedback from former militant leaders on ways to proceed with the programme," Agary said.

Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said on Sunday it had started formal peace talks with the government to address the underlying problems in the impoverished region. [ID:nLF216359]

Representatives including Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka met Yar'Adua for several hours on Saturday. But a spokesman for MEND -- whose demands include demilitarisation of the delta -- said the meeting was "more like a sparring match".

"We are aware the government is flooding the region with military and that is one of the issues that will be addressed before we can even talk of disarming," the spokesman said in an email to Reuters.

"The ultimate demand is the control of our land through fiscal federalism," the email said.



HARDLINERS

MEND has been severely weakened since its main field commanders and thousands of gunmen accepted a presidential offer of amnesty earlier this year and handed over weapons.

But hardline factions remain and military officials privately doubt the militants handed over all weapons in their possession and acknowledge that new arms are easy to procure.

"All we want to see is action. Sometimes we still ask ourselves again if we took the right decision by agreeing to lay down our arms," Eris Paul, a former militant leader in Bayelsa state, told Reuters in the state capital of Yenegoa.

"If we have taken the right decision, what stops these people from developing our land."

Yar'Adua has offered to allocate 10 percent of Nigeria's oil joint ventures to Niger Delta communities, potentially giving them hundreds of millions of dollars each year. [ID:nLK711860]

He has also approved 200 billion naira ($1.3 billion) in federal funding to build roads, hospitals and schools in the region. [ID:nLS61406]

But activists and sceptics fear former fighters could easily return to the creeks and resume attacks if they do not quickly find work and if politicians contesting 2011 elections again use them to intimidate voters and spark unrest.

Paul, known locally as Ogunboss, said former militant leaders were trying to discourage frustrated Nigerians from returning to a life of violence.

"We are even pursuing the amnesty programme more vigorously than even the (federal) amnesty committee because we realise that if we withdraw from it there will be problems," he said.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 former gunmen signed up for the amnesty programme, which provides them with a 65,000 naira ($433) monthly stipend, Agary said. (Additional reporting by Randy Fabi and Nick Tattersall; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Nick Tattersall) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ )