The Nigerian government has agreed a ceasefire with militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta, including the Niger Delta Avengers, as renewed militancy has dragged the country’s oil output close to 30-year lows, a Nigerian oil ministry official said Tuesday. The official told S&P Global Platts the oil minister had “succeeded in extracting a deal for a cease fire with militants” and these talks have been taking place “over the past two weeks with people close to the Niger Delta Avengers.” Reports have said government negotiators, led by the junior oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu have agreed to a 30-day ceasefire allowing President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration more time to come up with a comprehensive plan to tackle militancy in the Niger Delta. Niger Delta Avengers had previously said it would only agree to talks with the government if foreign countries including the US, UK and France were part of the negotiations. […]