Uyo – The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has charged the people of the region to embrace policies that would improve the living standard in the region.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Uyo, Usani urged them to rise to the challenges of steering the region to greater prosperity, reiterating the resolve of the current administration to develop the region.
He decried the grotesque image militancy had ascribed to the region and urged the people to create a suitable environment that would enable appreciable recovery of the lost years.
He admonished them to realise that God uses whoever is in power as an agent to accomplish His plans and purposes and urged the people of the region to submit to God’s will.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to help him beg the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant groups in the oil-rich region of southern Nigeria to stop their attacks on oil installations.’’
He said the president’s pleas became necessary to sustain peace and work towards the overall development of the region.
According to him, the recent vandalism on oil installations does not only affect the nation’s economy but also hinders developmental plans of the present administration for the region.
“The President, being fully aware of the tough economic challenges facing Nigerians, has directed his focus on salvaging our battered and prostrate economy.
“The very worrisome state of the economy inherited by this administration, which has been further battered by the collapse of the price of crude oil and the massive corruption by the past administration, does not need any further explanation.
“However, the government has courageously faced these challenges by taking tough decisions necessary to bring our economy back to buoyancy and self-sustaining growth.”
The minister advised the people of the region to put aside any differences and cooperate with the president to design and lay a strong foundation for a new economy that assures self-sustaining growth and shared prosperity.
Usani said that building a strong Niger Delta entailed putting in place a system that extolled the virtues of hard work, godliness, equity, unity and amity among the various ethnic and religious components of the region.
NAN reports that the minister had inaugurated a Technical Committee on Peace and Stability in the Niger Delta for the restoration peace in the region.
The committee, headed by the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Prof. Cladius Daramola, comprises representatives of the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, DSS, Ministry of Information and Culture and Ministry of Defence.
Others are the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC), Presidential Amnesty Programme Office, Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, NNPC , Ministry of interior and Civil Defence Corps. (NAN)
