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Siasia urges immediate action to develop Niger Delta

By Clarkson Voke Eberu
29 April 2020   |   4:02 am
Convener of Niger Delta Youth Professionals (NDYP), Comrade Moses Siloko Siasia, has charged all stakeholders to prioritise the urgent development of the oil-rich area in the face of the “alarming rate of poverty...

Convener of Niger Delta Youth Professionals (NDYP), Comrade Moses Siloko Siasia, has charged all stakeholders to prioritise the urgent development of the oil-rich area in the face of the “alarming rate of poverty, pollution, environmental degradation, youth unemployment and crimes.”

Deploring what he described as the “continued lack of visible evidence to suggest that there are serious efforts by key stakeholders in government towards ensuring that the Niger Delta region attains meaningful economic and infrastructure development”, the youth leader stressed that it is high time those entrusted with public trust developed the area that lays the golden egg for Nigeria’s corporate existence.

In a statement, Siasia, who is also chairman of Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), noted that the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic “ has once again exposed the lack of preparedness and undisciplined nature of governance and abuse of public resources by some state governments in the region.”

He stated that the area had enough endowments and goodwill to remain self-sufficient but for the abuse of the commonwealth by those placed with the responsibility to promote the welfare of the people.
 
The convener regretted that the trillions of naira in allocations through the various agencies to make the region a masterpiece had not shown either on the people or the Niger Delta over the years.

Owing to the prevailing crude oil crash at the international market prompted by the coronavirus outbreak, the chairman said: “I weep for the Niger Delta because if these global economic decline and expected recession continue, our region will be most affected seeing that for over three to four decades.

“Our region has received trillions of naira in federal allocations through the states and various bodies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and other agencies established to promote its development.

“But it is sad to note that of today, there are no meaningful investments in infrastructure towards preparing our region for such a time like this.”

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