Nigeria's recently-inaugurated president Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to fast-track development programmes in the Niger Delta, building on guarantees assured by the previous president Umar Yar'Adua.

Mr Jonathan, who grew up in the troubled Niger Delta region, pledged a commitment following a meeting with governors of the state in which they expressed concern that a failure to provide training and work for ex-rebels could mean a return to instability and violence.

Voice of America reporter Chinedu Offor said the amnesty agreed in November 2009 is in a fragile state, as ex-militants are increasingly returning to criminal activity due to a lack of training and jobs.

"On the rehabilitation of militants, it was agreed that within the next six months, about 2,000 … will be trained in batches, and they are hoping to get a total of about 20,000," he said.

Oil and gas production has increased substantially since the amnesty last year as rebel groups ended a five-year campaign of sabotage against foreign-owned pipelines and infrastructure.

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