Leadership (Abuja)
Osa Okhomina
8 November 2009
Yenagoa — Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said peace in the Niger Delta is central to Nigeria's stability. According to the governor, whatever happens in the Niger Delta has a spiralling effect on the rest of the country, saying the hosting of the Nigerian Governors' Forum in Bayelsa State was proof that Nigeria is not only ready to benefit from the production of oil but also determined to share in the problems arising from the sector.
Similarly, he acknowledged that with the restoration of peace in the region, Nigeria as a nation has demonstrated to the world that it was capable of resolving its problems without external assistance. Sylva spoke Saturday at a cocktail/command performance organised in honour of the visiting 36 state governors. He therefore called for the support of the governors towards ensuring that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's post-amnesty programme is translated into reality. The host governor highlighted a number of the President's planned programmes for the Niger Delta, which include construction of a railway line from Cross River to Lagos State and a coastal road from Lagos to Akwa Ibom State as well as divesting ten percent equity stake from the joint venture oil business to oil bearing communities, among others.
He emphasized that all Nigerians had a role to play to make the promises of the President come to fruition, because according to him, whatever is invested in the Niger Delta would not be beneficial to the region alone but to the whole country. On his part, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, who made a surprise appearance at the event pointed out that as the Federal Government initiates progammes geared towards the development of the Niger Delta, youths of the area should acquire technical knowledge to enable them take charge of the oil industry in future.
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