Minister Charges Oil-Producing States On Collaboration

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Usani Uguru Usani, has called for collaboration with the nine oil-producing states, oil companies and development partners to solve the challenges facing the region.
The Minister made the call at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Ministry in Abuja.
The Tide gathered that the meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Petroleum, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCD&MB), among other stakeholders.
Usani explained that many organizations and development partners were working in the region without fully involving the stake governors.
Disclosing that his dream was to get every relevant agency involved in the affairs of the region, the Minister said that the collaboration had become imperative because of the recent activities of militant groups and other criminal elements in the region.
Such activities, the Minister noted, have greatly threatened the relative peace that prevailed in the region.
Usani said the Ministry had been saddled with the responsibility of evolving policies that would ensure the development and security of the region.
“In doing this, the Ministry has the mission to formulate and execute plans, programmes and other initiatives as well as co-ordinate the activities of other stakeholders involved in the development of the region”, he said.
According to him, the region had been bedeviled by security challenges arising from gaps in job creation, poverty, hunger, environmental degradation, neglect and perceived discrimination.
“Government is desirous of dialogue with stakeholders on a way forward as the expectations are that the nagging security issues will be thrown up and comprehensively addressed”, the Minister said.
He disclosed that the Ministry was restructuring key departments such as Community Development and Education, Housing and Urban Development, Infrastructure Development as well as that of Economic Empowerment.
The Minister said that the Ministry had recorded milestones in the past in human capital development in various sectors such as oil and gas, agriculture, marine, Information Technology (ICT), Entertainment in addition to other infrastructural development.
“Youth, who were trained in the International Skills Acquisition Centre in Israel, have been empowered by the Bank of Agriculture in collaboration with the Ministry.
“Over 260 youth from the region benefitted from mobile phone assemblage in Calabar”, he stated.