Business
Renewed Hostility, Dangerous To N’ Delta Economy – Diete-Spiff
The Amanyanabo of Twon Brass and former Military Governor of the old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, says the economy of the Niger Delta people will be affected negatively if hostility is allowed to return to the region.
He noted that the region has not fully recovered from the past hostility by the militants, saying many companies and multinationals that fled the region are yet to come back to the region.
Deiete-Spiff, who made this known while interacting with airport correspondents, shortly after his arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, in reaction to new threat by some militants to resume hostility, said such threat would send wrong signals to the world.
According to him, mere mention of that in the media will scare intending investors, and that the signal they will get from such is that the place is not safe.
“How can we still be talking about hostility, which will end up in breaking of pipeline, which will adversely affect our environment?
“It can affect the oil revenue of the Federal Government, but the people in Abuja are not affected, and unemployment will rise because the companies have gone.
“So, the best option is through dialogue to continuously press forward our demands, and through legislation and legal framework, just as the Petroleum Industry Bill is on course”, he said.
Also agreeing with Diete-Spiff’s position, a Niger Delta activist, Enoffiog Udoh, in an interaction with The Tide said that hostility is not the solution to the issues of development in the region.
He wondered why the huge sum being received by governors in the region through ecology funds and others could not be used to transform the region.
According to him, the unemployment rate in the Niger Delta states is very high compared to other regions, in spite of the huge allocation the region receives.
Udoh said that rather than resorting to hostility, the best way forward is to take the agitations to the National Assembly for effective legislation.
According to him, hostility has never solved any problems, rather it scares away investment and investors, which compounds unemployment in the region.
By: Corlins Walter