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Nigeria: Niger-Delta Crises - Ominous Yar-Adua
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Vanguard (Lagos)
11 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Samuel Oyadongha
Yenagoa
President Umaru Musa Yar"Adua yesterday lamented the situation in the Niger Delta, saying if oil exploration and production are not allowed and peace restored in the troubled region, the country stood the risk of losing its position in Africa to Angola.
The president, who painted a bleak future for the country on account of the tensed situation in the troubled region, in Yenagoa during the flag-off of the governorship campaign of Chief Timipre Sylva, said he felt pained anytime he received the disturbing report on the region.
He said though his administration was already on top of the situation in the region with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan charged with the responsibility of ensuring a peaceful dialogue on contentious issues, the people of the region should not throw away the opportunity for the country to become the petrol-chemical hub of the African continent.
"There is a growing energy situation in the world and the energy demand is becoming worrisome. The situation has started driving upward the price of crude oil. When the world press talks about it, they said it is due to the lack of peace in Iran, Iraq and now the Niger Delta region. This assertion is becoming true. It is because we provide the world with the opportunity to do so. It is painful for me because we have the potentials to become the petro-chemical hub of the continent," he lamented.
The President noted that in a country that needed development, there are two ways of developing money for such a country.
He explained that all the government needed do is to provide necessary empowerment for growth citing the issue of the release of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) funds as a priority and in accordance with the Act establishing it.
"We have set aside funds for the oil producing states of the country, and in the supplementary budget, we will make the issue of power/energy, security and the Niger Delta region, a priority. The administration is doing everything possible to lay foundation for development," he said.
President Yar"Adua however stated that without peace and unity, such desired development can not be achieved.
"If there is no peace in the Niger Delta region, the country may loose its position to Angola, that is what it will cost us. Let us not throw away God given opportunity. As in other places in the world, it is not governments that provide investment; it is the private business and investments. Of the whole continent, there is no where with abundant resources but the Niger Delta.
"The Vice President is leading the process of dialogue. I appeal that you co-operate with the Vice President, the National Assembly and the Government. This conference will provide a way forward for peace and I appeal in the name of God. I am talking from the bottom of my heart. It is painful that we could lose our position," he noted.
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He however agreed that the issue of conflict in the Niger Delta may have been an offshoot of what has befallen the African continent in the last five decades of existence. "the growth of the continent among the league of nations has been retarded by conflict and crisis. But once peace comes and stays for 15 years, you will not believe the transformation that will occur in the region. Don't create fear and tension that impede development."
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