The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige says President Muhammadu Buhari is ready to dialogue with the South East to address the agitations in the region.
Ngigi stated this on Sunday while speaking with state house correspondents after a meeting with the president in Abuja.
In recent times, there have been attack on government buildings and killings of several security operatives.
The Police and army have accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of masterminding the attacks, but the group has consistently denied its involvement.
There have also been some agitations from some part of the east complaining of being marginalised
However, according to Ngige, the federal government is working out some modalities to ensure that the people of the south-east do not “feel unwanted” in Nigeria.
“We also looked at the security situation, especially in my zone, the south-east, and we made some proposals to him based on the yearnings on the people, and what the government also wants,” the minister said.
“We are following up with dialogue, which at the end of the day, is what will happen. We have to talk; we have to discuss. Part of the discussion starts tomorrow. The minister of defence, minister of interior, and service chiefs were in Enugu last Saturday and we’re going to do follow-up meetings on that.
“We briefed him and he accepted that dialogue is the way to go in all this. Like I keep on saying, there is a very thin line between perception and reality. So, certain things will be done, at least to assuage the feelings of the people in the area, and make them not feel unwanted.”