THE Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to partner with the nine Niger Delta states to harness their resources, aside oil, for the sustainable development and peace of the nation.
Osinbajo said this yesterday at the opening of 2nd National Council on Niger Delta (NCND) in Akure, themed: “Fast Tracking the Development of the Niger Delta Region: Options and Prospects.”
While he paid courtesy to the palace of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi he said bitumen is critical to the development of the state, saying exploration of the solid mineral would open up the state and create jobs for the people of the state.
“If we explore it all, the young men and women will have jobs, it is an employment opportunity,’’ he said, revealing that the major importers of oil were seeking alternatives around the world.
According to him, “The future of oil is decline that is why it is the duty of all stakeholders to explore all the opportunities now and to ensure we are not constantly battling with the security of the pipelines we should use the resources to develop other potential of the region.
“It is the duty of this council now to ensure we provide the road map for the future. The future that will not necessarily depend on oil.
“It is obvious that oil is not going to last forever. As a matter of fact everything that will see showed that oil is declining very quietly.
“We have no reason why we should not develop all other potential apart of oil in the region. If we can do this the full potential of the region will be fulfil and our collective vision will be realised.”
The Vice President affirmed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is determined to utilize other economic potentials in the region like agriculture, minerals, seaport, culture and the available human resources.
He said FG would ensure justice and equity to the people of the Niger Delta, adding that its vision is to ensure that the people of the region benefit from their wealth.
This, he mentioned, led to the injection of N35b into the Niger Delta Amnesty programme by the FG to achieve greater impacts in the region, disclosing that N2b was also released for the take off of the Nigerian Delta Maritime University next month.
Referring to the the Ogoni clean up which is on course, he noted that it might be experiencing slow pace than anticipated, but explained that the government was applying caution so that the effort would not flop like it did in the past.
Prof. Osinbajo iterated that the administration was also committed to modular refinery, urging the state governments to work with the local contractors to make it a huge success.
Speaking on the Ogoni cleanup, Osinbajo said ” it is on but that “it might be undergoing slow pace than anticipated.
He explained that the administration was applying caution so that it would not flop like efforts made by the past administration.
Meanwhile, Ondo State governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who have been playing host to the NCND delegates since Thursday, had urged the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to expand its policies for the region and cease from giving people money as empowerment.
“However, moving beyond the rhetoric of capacity building and development intervention, we owe it a duty to evolve a sustainable means of genuinely empowering the youth of the region through job creation and inclusion in decision-making processes.”
The governor insisted that the aged and vulnerable must be catered for by the ministry, advocating opportunities for wealth creation and redistribution through private sector driven investments.
“We must provide potable water and electricity for our people, provide them access to quality healthcare, safeguard their environment, and give them a sense of belonging in matters concerning them.
“Above all, there is the need to strengthen the aspects of transparency and accountability in the different intervention measures we implement.
“This meeting will afford us with the opportunity to listen to experts on these, specifically, and other matters that are of importance to the well-being of our people,” he said.
Akeredolu, who decried neglect, abandoned projects and infrastructural deficit in the state, demanded for operational licence for deep sea mining port In Ilaje Free Trade Zone. He said the coastline is about 120km: the longest and deepest in Nigeria and West Africa Sub- Region.
“The establishment of the mining port will also create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths, improve the socio-economic stance of the people of the state and stimulate the development of micro and small/medium enterprises.
“The state is home to very beautiful beaches and aquatic resources like sole snapper, croaker, barracuda, big eye grunter, cat fish and other fish species.
“Ondo State is also endowed with abundant mineral deposits such as limestone, coal, granite, kaolin, silica sand, bitumen among others.
“The development of the deep sea mining port possesses the veritable potential to turn the Niger Delta areas of Ondo State into a hub of investment opportunities.
“It will assist, greatly, the quest to provide possibilities for infrastructural development of not only the area, but also the state and Nigeria at large.
“It will add value to agriculture and solid minerals development as evacuation of agricultural products and solid minerals (e.g. bitumen) can be easily done without stress.”
Nonetheless, he lauded FG for awarding the state an exclusive operational licence for the development of Ilaje Free Trade Zone and the oil block licence for bitumen exploration.
“We believe that opening our deep sea for economic activities will serve as a tremendous boost. We, like Oliver Twist, therefore, request from the Federal Government an approval of license for the establishment of a Deep Sea Mining Port in the Ilaje Free Trade Zone.
“The mining port, if approved, does not need any dredging and can allow passage of bigger vessels due to the high depth of the coastline.”
According to him, “Countries with smaller coastlines, such as Singapore, depend almost entirely on their seaports for sustenance. I beseech you to spare serious thought for the afore-mentioned issues.”
The Minister of Nigeria Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani, who led the delegates from the Niger Delta states, said the council is reworking the vision for more sustainable peace and development in the region.
“The working of a renewed vision has shifted from personal goals to corporate survival. This premise underscores the current approach of promoting investment capital in social and economic terms.
“In the overall goal, development of infrastructure and its full utilization will produce a regional economy that is capable of supporting in future the pressure that is likely to emerge as we diversify from oil economy,” Usani said.
