Obaseki laments underdevelopment in South-South amid huge resources

• Security firm denies Bayelsa govt’s terrorism allegations
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday lamented that there was little to show that the South-South region is the most funded zone in the country and, therefore, advocated judicious use of its resources to drive socio-economic development. He said Edo State was poised to change the narrative with a well-articulated long-term development framework that provides sustainable pathway to economic growth.

He made the assertion when executives of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) presented him with an award for winning the seventh Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF) competition.

Obaseki said part of the challenges of the South-South was in defining well-articulated and workable development agenda. “A lot has been done in the region over the years, but they have not translated into meaningful development for the benefit of our people, as the region remains one of the least developed in the country when compared to what we earn,” he said.

The governor attributed the development to lack of planning, insisting that the right things should be done, if the zone must move forward.He noted that without workable, well-thought out physical, economic and social development master plans, it would be difficult for Edo State to overcome its developmental challenges.

“But I want to assure you that Edo State is investing a lot in planning to change its narrative,” he added.Speaking, Partnership and Engagement Manager of PIND, Chime Asonye, said they visited the Edo State Government House to present an award it won at the seventh NDDF.

Asonye said Edo has the best governance framework on long-term planning in the Niger Delta region, adding, “The state won the award for putting together a presentation on the journey of the state so far and PIND Foundation will support the state government on its development plan.”

Meanwhile, Darlon Security and Guards Limited, a surveillance security firm working for a multinational oil company in Bayelsa State, has denied allegations of engaging in acts of terrorism leveled against it by Governor Seriake Dickson.Dickson had, during the launch of Rise Bayelsa, a programme aimed at attracting global attention to environmental degradation caused by International Oil Companies (IOCs), accused the security firm of terrorism.

But the security outfit in a statement issued yesterday in Yenagoa by its Head of Operations, Wilson Clifford, denied the state government’s allegations against its Chairman, David Lyon.The company stated that Dickson’s accusations of terrorism, as well as running a parallel government, “shows the height of desperation and the state government’s attempt to pull down Lyon, whose only crime is being a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).”