Kenneth Ehigiator
18 July 2008
Lagos — THE Rivers State chapter of Action Congress (AC) has pleaded with the British government to withdraw the directive given Britons to stay away from the Niger Delta, saying the move was capable of crippling the economy of states in the region.
The party, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, also said the British government's move would worsen the poverty level of people in the region.
According to the party, the few skirmishes in the Niger Delta are not enough to warrant the British government's decision.
"This call, at this time, to us is very unfortunate, uncalled for and sad, considering the enormous resources and efforts of the various state governments in this region and that of the Federal Government in restoring normalcy in the region.
"No matter the few skirmishes in some parts of the region, it does not convey a terrible situation to warrant this type of panicky call.
To us, this is just a ploy to scare away other foreign investors that are very determined to invest in the region to worsen the economic situation in the region," AC declared.
The party said the British government ought to be assisting the Federal Government and the states in the region in tackling the criminality that had taken over the agitation for resource control rather than make declarations that could compound the situation in the region.
It urged the Federal Government to realise that the British government's action would not just create economic problems for the Niger Delta, but also the entire nation, describing the move as an attack on Nigeria, and not just the region.
AC said further: "The British Government should collaborate with governments in this region to provide employment to our teeming unemployed graduates and post-graduates to fill the vacant positions in the oil industry.
"The government should be assisted to come out with a deliberate and planned policy to empower our young educated men and women and provide adequate transportation in the region, particularly fast ferry/passenger boats and shallow graft cargo boats for the haulage of goods around the region."
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