…As Wike wants urgent completion of East-West Road
President Muhammadu Buhari says the Federal Government is committed to fast-tracking the development of the Niger Delta region.
Buhari stated this during the 4th National Council on Niger Delta in Port Harcourt, last Friday.
Represented by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the President, said the Niger Delta region has suffered a lot of deprivation despite the huge commitment of the Federal Government to change the face of the region and give the people a new lease of life.
He said the completion of the East-West Road which was a priority of his administration, has been handed over to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, adding that the road would be completed by the end of 2021 or early March, 2022.
According to him, “as stakeholders, some of the issues that must engage your minds as you deliberate in this meeting today should relate to economic diversification, fostering economic growth, eradication of extreme poverty, promoting social inclusion, creating of jobs and taming environmental degradation”.
Buhari, who commended the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, for the hospitality he extended to delegates of the 4th National Council on Niger Delta, expressed delight with the relative peace in the region.
In his opening remarks, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who spoke through his Deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said the Niger Delta was the region that produces the bulk of the wealth on which the nation depends for its development, but regretted that the region was largely characterized by endemic poverty and gross under-development, which he attributed to the denial of a fair share of development resources, economic investments and basic social infrastructures by the Federal Government.
Wike said the minimal progress in the region was attributable to the efforts of the respective state governments, stressing that because of limited resources and technical capacity, the level of progress remains slow throughout the region, much to the discomfort and chagrin of the people.
“When we complained about the resources denial, they reluctantly ceded 13 per cent oil mineral revenues derivation fund to the states to address all the inherent and associated environmental and development challenges that we face”, Wike stressed.
According to the state chief executive, “we complained of lack of Federal Government’s development projects and attention, they gave us the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with nebulous mandates to drive and meet the developmental needs of the region”.
He further said, “When the youths protested against the neglect, marginalisation and the expropriation of the regions’ resources, they, again, responded with a placatory Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to nip the increasing militancy and restore normalcy, so, oil production activities can continue unhindered”.
Wike insisted that, “If the Federal Government can fund Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the 2nd Niger Bridge from the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), then, there is no reason why the East-West Road, which is critical to the progress and development of the Niger Delta region cannot benefit from this opportunity. I, therefore, call on the Federal Government to urgently fund the completion of the East–West Road”.
The governor revealed that “the reality is for the people of the Niger Delta region to put our development fate in our hands, instead of waiting for the Federal Government, which is interested much more in our petroleum resources than our progress and prosperity”.
Wike also said that the agitation and demand for fiscal federalism, economic, environmental and development justice for the Niger Delta region was just, legitimate and compelling, adding that “it is a struggle we must continue and win by the Grace of God, in the interest of our region and the survival of our people”.
In his address, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who commended Wike’s developmental strides in the state said, “I have seen the flyovers in Rivers State, very high quality and the roads, we are proud to be associated with the efforts going on in Rivers State, irrespective of the political party. All we are interested in is development, as hunger has no political party, unemployment has no political party, decayed infrastructure has no political party; any infrastructure done by government should be appreciated”.
It would be recalled that the National Council on Niger Delta (NCND) is the highest advisory body for the initiation and formulation of policies, programmes and strategies to achieve accelerated socio-economic development of the nine Niger Delta states.
The theme for the 4th National Council on Niger Delta was: “Achieving Uncommon Development in the Niger Delta Region: The Road Map and Strategy”.
