As part of measures of curbing crimes and creating employment in the Niger Delta region, Elder statesman, Prof Dagogo Fubara, has called for the creation of an Energy Corridor for proper utilisation of the oil and gas potentials in the Niger Delta.
The Professor of Geodesy who made the call while speaking at a Niger Delta Dialogue forum organized by a Non Governmental Organization known as Academic Associates Peace Work at Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, recently, said similar initiatives had yielded tremendous results in developed societies such as the US.
Prof Fubara said the creation of the Energy Corridor in the core oil producing states in Nigeria and the Niger Delta in particular would create over five million direct jobs for the people.
He regretted the fact that,” the enormous resources in the  Niger Delta have not effectively and positively impacted the lives of the people,” noting that the disengagement of the people of the Niger Delta, particularly the youth form  productive activities has led to conflicts in the region.
He added that the initiatives would also address the issues of importation of petroleum products and reduce their prices of the products.
Fubara, who is also a traditional ruler said the major economic challenge facing Nigeria as a nation was the absence of proper development planning at the local, states and federal level of governance noting the need for sustainable economic planning to boost industrialization at every level of the economy.
The traditional ruler, who described the Niger Delta as strategic to the development of the nation urged the leaders and key stakeholders in the oil rich region to channel the available resources in the region to its holistic development to address the manpower and infrastructural deficits in the Niger Delta.
He also called for more investment in the agricultural sector to create jobs and boost food sufficiency among the people.

Taneh Beemene