2018 Budget: Addressing The N’Delta Question

Ostensibly pressured by the leaders and stakeholders of the Niger Delta region, the Federal Government, in its 2018 national budget, arguably made some appreciable concessions towards the Niger Delta question.
Going by the figures reeled out by President Muhammadu Buhari during the presentation of the 2018 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly, penultimate Tuesday, the nation’s oil-rich region appears to have been comparatively accorded due recognition and priority.
Christened “Budget of Consolidation” and described by experts as an “ambitious budget”, a breakdown of the estimates as it affects the region shows that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs gets N53.89 billion as against last year’s N33 billion; NDDC has N71.2 billion compared to N61.6 billion in 2017; East/West Road (N17.32 billion), Post Amnesty Programme (N55 billion), while the Federal Government also promised its commitment to the Ogoni clean-up project.
While the nation awaits early and positive consideration of the budget proposals by the National Assembly, it is our hope that the Federal Government will do justice to the 2018 budget when eventually passed, as well as implement the 16 point agenda submitted to the presidency by Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), early this year. We also implore the National Assembly not to tinker with the Niger Delta interest.
It is our belief that if the Federal Government sincerely commits itself to full implementation of the 2018 Appropriation Bill for the region, the current threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume vandalisation of oil facilities in the region would be averted.
The Tide is gladdened by the President’s assurance that 2018 would witness increased and intensified dialogue with the Niger Delta. We hope that the Federal Government will live up to this promise by engaging stakeholders in the region in meaningful dialogue. Dialogue remains the only viable option and way forward to the Niger Delta debacle.
Given the relative peace enjoyed in the Niger Delta in the last couple of months, it is obvious that the region is disposed to negotiation and peace. We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to leverage on this and avert anything that can bring about restiveness in the region again.
We also strongly advise against the militarisation of the region, as this is not only antithetical to democracy, but also an invitation to anarchy. It is surely not a good panacea to the region’s multifarious problems.
The only way out to assuage the feelings of the Niger Delta people and stabilise the nation’s oil-dependent economy is to accord the Niger Delta question a top priority in the government’s policies.
While we commend the Federal Government for its increased budgetary allocations to the Niger Delta, we hope that the olive branch recently waved by the Buhari administration is not a Greek gift ahead of the 2019 general elections.