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The Niger Delta, which produces the majority of Nigeria's oil, is impoverished and plagued by left over oil spills. Militants in the region have begun attacking oil pipelines in protest, drastically reducing the country's production.

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum and resources, said in a speech in Lagos yesterday that output had fallen to 1.56 million bpd, compared with the 2.2 million bpd that the budget was pegged on.

Continued militant attacks on pipelines, which have affected four streams of Nigeria’s oil, including its largest Qua Iboe, have reduced output by around 700,000 bpd.

Nigeria’s once-booming economy looks set to plunge into recession this year after the crash in oil prices and the vandalism of pipelines have disrupted the country’s biggest revenue stream.

Disruptions to the supply of oil, and gas – which has also been targeted by the militants – have further exacerbated the country’s energy crisis, forcing many to rely on loud, dirty back-up generators.

While data for the second quarter of the year is not yet available, the country’s economy shrank by 0.36% in the first quarter of the year. The International Monetary Fund expects a 1.8% contraction by the end of the year.

In May, the country signed its largest-ever budget into law, tripling capital expenditure in the hope of jump-starting the economy.

But implementation has been plagued by delays and many are uncertain the country can afford the ambitious spending. In the budget, the government anticipated a deficit of $11bn, twice that of 2015, which the government planned to finance with extensive borrowing.

Kachikwu said he was hopeful that a meeting of OPEC producers in Algeria next month could help shore up crude prices.

Issues with the Niger Delta Avengers, the group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Nigeria’s oil hub, the Niger Delta, however, look unlikely to be resolved any time soon despite ongoing talks.

The region suffers from entrenched poverty despite producing 70% of the country’s wealth in the form of oil. The avengers are calling for more revenues to be passed on to communities and for oil spills to be cleaned up.

The group have threatened to declare the region independent on 1 October unless the government “fails to retrace its step[s] by restructuring this country”.

In a statement, it said: “The 1 October declaration of independence is still sacrosanct. The Buhari-led government has fail[ed] Nigerians with misdirected policies that [have] divide[d] the country. As such nobody wants to be part of that failed state, not even in the Niger Delta.”