Emma Ujah
7 January 2009
The Federal Ministry of Niger Delta would soon meet with stakeholders in the Niger Delta region with a view to drawing the agenda for the development priorities of the region.
Chief Ekaette's Special Assistance on Media and Communications, Mr. Dennis Sami, who spoke on behalf of the minister, Chief Uffot Ekaette, in Abuja, yesterday, did not give details of the proposed meeting but said the minister was already studying the recommendations of the Ledum Mittee Technical Committee on Niger Delta with a view to implementing them.
"Very soon we will be meeting with stakeholders to determine priority projects. Soon, our full policy on strategic development will be made known," Mr Sami said.
Chief Ekaette, he said, would drive a process of accelerated development of the region in order "to give succour to the people of the area so that they would know that government is totally committed to the development of the region."
According to him, "Chief Ekaette is totally committed to the mandate of transforming the Niger Delta and will meet the yearnings of the people."
Mr. Sami stated that the minister was also "trying to focus on setting up the necessary structure for a full take off", of the new ministry.
Once the agenda for a full take off is in place, the much-awaited transformation will begin. This is because we are in tune with the desire and commitment", he added.
There has been a growing anxiety over the choice of Chief Ekaette who was, for eight years, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation under the administration of immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to head the new ministry with some Ijaw groups rejecting him outright.
Those opposed to his appointment claimed only a man from the creeks of the Niger Delta could effectively deliver on the development challenges confronting the region.
Some of the key recommendations of the Mittee Committee were credible conditions for amnesty, setting up of a Decommissioning, Disarmament and Rehabilitation (DDR) Commission and a negotiated undertaking by all militant groups to stop all kidnappings, hostage taking and attacks on oil installations.
The ceasefire was recommended to be worked out to allow disarmament of militants to begin within six months and that a youth employment scheme should be set up to employ 2000 of those who handed over their weapons in each local government in the region.
On the on-going trial of Mr. Henry Okah, a leader of one of the militant groups who is being tried secretly in Jos, the committee recommended that he be given bail and allowed to join the peace building process. It also urged the Federal Government to pay the outstanding debts (about N300 billion) it owes the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) so that the commission would be better placed to deliver on its mandate.
In addition, the committee recommended an increase of oil revenue derivation from the current 13 per cent to 25 per cent within such a framework in which the additional funds could be dedicated to new infrastructure and sustainable development of the region.
It also called for improved operational integrity of security forces and police in the Niger Delta to a level that assures communities and businesses of safety from harassment and disruption.
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