Abdulfattah Olajide
4 July 2008
Tashikalmah Hallah & Francis Okeke — Against the background of the scepticism being expressed over the proposed Niger Delta Summit, President Umaru Musa Yar'adua yesterday reaffirmed that the summit would not be another "pointless and diversionary jamboree, as some fear."
Restating his commitment to the summit, Yar'adua described it "as a critical first step and take-off point for the implementation of his administration's agenda for peace and rapid socio-economic development in the region."
A statement issued by the Special Adviser on Communication to the President, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said President Yar'adua "is fully committed to doing everything possible to ensure that it yields positive dividends for peace, security and long overdue progress in the Niger-Delta."
In recent times, the proposed summit has been dogged by many controversies ranging from its desirability (in view of many existing committee reports on the solutions to the Niger Delta crisis) to the appointment of its chairman. Only last weekend, Niger Delta elders rejected government's proposal to appoint Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the summit's chairman.
Other stakeholders have also said that the summit is uncalled for since there have been many earlier recommendations on the Niger Delta.
According to Adeniyi, President Yar'adua believes that peace and security are essential preconditions for meaningful development of the region. "One of the primary objectives of the stakeholders summit is to evolve an across the board consensus and commitment from all concerned parties to end the incessant violence in the region and engender a much more conducive atmosphere for the massive improvement of infrastructure and social services in the region."
"Once the summit has held and achieved its key objective of getting all stakeholders to buy-in to the Yar'adua administration's agenda for the region and guarantee the creation of the right conditions of peace and security for the rapid execution of the agenda, the Federal Government will move very quickly to begin the faithful implementation of the Niger Delta Development Master Plan", he stated.
The President also said "the summit is necessary to obtain a firm and binding commitment from all stakeholders to stop all acts of violence and criminality which have unfortunately turned the Niger-Delta into a no-go-area for many of the construction companies and contractors whose services are required for provision of essential amenities in the region."
He said most of the contractors mobilized to sites in the Niger Delta after he assumed office last year, have abandoned their projects because of insecurity and threats of violence in the area. "The continual disruption of work by armed gangs, kidnappings of expatriate personnel and family members for ransom as well as the necessity and cost of providing high level security cover for workers, sometimes involving deployment of troops, have today driven up the cost of executing projects in the Niger Delta by about 300 per cent with no guarantee of completion", he added.
Under these circumstances, the president said he considered it absolutely necessary to engage all stakeholders in the region in meaningful and purposeful dialogue aimed at removing fundamental obstacles to the implementation of his administration's plans for Niger-Delta.
He said the urgent resolution of the developmental challenges of the Niger Delta remains a very critical element of his administration's seven-point agenda. He added that much thought and effort have already gone into the conception and planning of the summit.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole has said that the House would continue to support the Federal Government through the enactment of relevant laws that would guarantee enduring peace, security and development in the Niger Delta.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media Affairs, Kayode Akinmade said the Speaker made the pledge while receiving members of the National Working Committee of the Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in his office. Bankole said the problem in the Niger Delta region has assumed global dimensions, adding that every stakeholder in Nigeria must join hands in finding a lasting solution to it.
"The issue of Niger Delta is no longer a South-South issue; it is not only a Nigeria issue but a global issue. It has also attracted the attention of all and sundry and we must collectively work to find solution to it," he said.
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