Minister Challenges Stakeholders To Sustain Peace

The Minister of Niger
Delta Affairs, Mr Darius Ishaku, last Tuesday said that peace was a necessary condition for sustainable development in the country.
Ishaku made the statement at the Niger Delta Youth for Peace Summit and Education Campaign, organised by the Peace Ambassadors Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
The minister, who was represented by an aide, Mr Gbade Ale, said that the ministry had done a lot in fostering sustainable peace and development in the region.
He recalled that the Niger Delta had been a zone filled with all kinds of crises such as pipeline vandalism, disruption of oil exploration activity and kidnapping.
“These crises were driven by militant youths who were agitating that the zone, as the goose that laid the golden eggs for the nation, deserved fair treatment in the Federal Government’s development efforts”, he said.
Ishaku said that timely intervention by the government in creating the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Amnesty Programme and the ministry had contributed to bring peace back to the region.
He said that as an agent of peace, the ministry was ready to work hand in hand with organisations which shared its views.
“It is this policy which therefore informed our decision, not just to identify with the Peace Ambassador Agency, but to also actively collaborate with it in organising this summit. A summit such as this one creates a good platform and conducive environment for peace. The objective was to fast-track development through the coordination of policy articulation and the implementation of development activities in the region”, Minister said.
According to him, collaboration with the Peace Ambassador Agency had assisted the ministry to adequately address areas of need in its mandate.
“Quite a number of vibrant youths, women and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) now partner with the ministry to enthrone peace in the region,’’ Ishaku said.
According to him, the ministry has taken some giant strides since its inception by initiating programmes targeted at sustenance of peace in the region.
Ishaku reiterated that peace was an essential ingredient that should be consciously promoted if meaningful development in any society was to take place.
He said that in spite of the achievements, the challenges in the region were still enormous, requiring huge resources which government alone could not provide and urged stakeholders and partners to ensure that the desired multiplier effects of the programmes were seen in the best interest of the region.