A sociopolitical group in the South South region, the Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC), led by Comrade Bene Mamamu, has urged the Federal Government to commence immediate implementation of the Niger Delta Development master plan, following the scrapping of the Niger Delta Ministry by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The call was contained in a statement made available to journalists by the NDYC president, Bene Mamamu, during a collaborative meeting held in Warri, Delta State with the Organisation for Human and Peoples Rights Protection and Humanitarian (OHPRPH) led by Comrade Ezekiel Kagbala. The meeting held on Saturday was attended by Comrade (Mrs)Tarepamor Carter, Â Lucky Emuoborjere, Costina Sorogu, Samuel Okorie and a host of others from OHPRPH who joined the NDYC’s president, Bene Mamamu and secretary of the council, Comrade Onitsha Shedrack and Comrade Fenemigho Roland Ebisan.
Rising from the meeting, the group noted with concern that “the existence of the Ministry of Niger Delta and the scrapping of it was not the problem”.”The actual problem was inherent in the government’s nonchalant attitude towards the developmental needs of the region”, the group stated. Consequently, the youths challenged the government to put in place physical projects and ensure infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region.”We want to see physical projects, increased revenue allocation to the oil-producing regions, environmental remediation, and poverty eradication schemes in our region, Niger Delta”, they posited in a jointly signed resolution.
Bene Mamamu specifically stated that the scrapped Ministry did not serve the purpose it was created for stressing that “there was no socioeconomic development of the region in any sort. It was just there as a name used by some few to enrich themselves”.He said, “The region should not be used as a means of fundraising or for the creation of an office for some. There must be a development master plan for each of the Niger Delta states.
“Creating offices does not just bring about development and create jobs; the interventionist agencies have not given the region any developmental facelift or value. The region’s concerns are managed without proper planning”.Speaking further, the NDYC president noted that barely a few weeks ago, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in conjunction with the Ministry of Niger Delta Development said they were collaborating to prepare an integrated master plan for the development of the oil-rich region.”It was shocking that there was no form of implementation or any progress in that direction before the news came that the Federal Government had scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs for reasons of overlapping functions with the same NDDC.
“Regrettably, that plan seemed to have ended in a workshop level which was organized last month, September 2024 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State”.It would be recalled that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was created on September 10, 2008, to promote and coordinate policies for the development, peace, and security of the Niger Delta Region.President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Executive last Wednesday scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta, readjusting its activities under the new Ministry of Regional Development. Niger Delta youths are insisting that the scrapped Ministry did not serve the purpose it was created for.
