FG Restates Commitment To N’Delta Dev

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja reiterated its commitment to ensure that all projects earmarked for the Niger Delta region are executed to accelerate development of the area.

Mr Godsday Orubebe, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, re-stated government’s commitment to the region while delivering a lecture at the 28th Annual Olumide Memorial Lecture instituted by the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS).

The paper was entitled: “Development of the Niger Delta: Progress and Challenges.”

Orubebe said the Federal Government had adopted a participatory approach in order to make the desired impact on the lives of the people in the area.

“The grass root people involvement is paramount in the project

conceptualisation, implementation and monitoring so that they would have a sense of belonging,’’ he said.

The minister, represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Sam Osasa, listed some of the ongoing projects as the construction of skills acquisition centres and 40-housing units in each of the nine states of the Niger Delta.

Others, Orubebe noted, were the development of new towns in each of the states and the construction of a 700km coastal road that would link all the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta.

According to him, the road which will be one of the longest in the country will stretch from Calabar, the capital of Cross River to Ilaje in Ondo.

The minister said a rail network was also being proposed by the Federal Government and other critical infrastructure to provide easy communication link for the people of the area.

Orubebe said the ministry was partnering with surveyors to ensure a sustainable development of the region, adding that, “surveying is the bedrock of development”.

Chief Yakubu Maikano, the President of the NIS, had earlier called for a mapping policy that would give clear guidelines for the digital mapping of the entire country.

This, he said, was preparatory for the take-off of the land reform.

“There can be no sustainable economic development without sustainable land governance.”

“It is therefore, imperative for the Federal Government to put in place a mapping policy for the country.”

“The policy should spell out when our maps whether urban or regional are out of date and will require updating or new ones produced to cope with our speed of development,” Maikano said.

The late Cyprian Olumide, who was both a surveyor and a Geoscientist, was the first and only life president of the NIS.