Militants in the Niger Delta have given the newly-installed president weeks to deal with their demands, threatening him with fresh attacks on Nigeria's oil industry, if he fails to do so.
In an emailed statement to AFP, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said President Goodluck Jonathan has only a little time to address the demands of local communities of the oil-rich region to benefit from a greater share of the oil wealth.
"We should be looking at weeks for Goodluck (Jonathan) to begin addressing an issue that has lingered for over 50 years," MEND said in the statement.
The group said Jonathan needed to start doing something now since he “has very little time to address the demands of this region before the fighting erupts".
Jonathan, a native of the delta, was sworn in last week within hours of the death of his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua.
Nigeria is the third largest exporter of crude oil to the US.
Armed groups including the MEND have for years caused havoc in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta by carrying out a wave of assaults on oil installations. They complain that despite vast oil output in the area, the region has remained poor and undeveloped.
