SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIGER DELTA “DIALOGUE NOT VIOLENCE, DEVELOPMENT ACTION, NOT MILITARY ACTION” TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT -BY PASTOR POWER ZIAKEDE AGINIGHAN
“If President Muhammadu Buhari must be on the right side of history, he must act as a Statesman by rejecting the counsel of sycophants and jesters around him who are proposing genocide on defenseless Niger Delta citizens who live near vandalised oil and gas installations. He should reject such advice and instea…d convoke an emergency stake-holders summit on the road-map to peace in the Niger Delta region. Mr. President must find out why the Niger Delta Development Commission is fast becoming a failing agency with unpaid certificates for jobs executed by contractors amounting to over N450billion and outstanding commitments of over N2.5trillion for contracts awarded? What has the Niger Delta State Governments done with the several billions they have received from the Federation Account through the 13% derivation fund since 1999 in addressing the development needs of the host communities that have borne the brunt of a devastated ecosystem? Is it right for the Honourable Minister of Transportation, an appointee of Mr President to halt the take-off the Nigeria Maritime University that was approved by the preceding Federal Executive Council without submitting a justification memo to the present Federal Executive Council presided over by the President, Commander in Chief? I appeal to the Niger Delta Avengers to cease any further attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta and give President Buhari the chance to prove his avowed commitment to develop the Niger Delta region. I also appeal to Mr. President to ensure that soldiers deployed in the region do not subject innocent citizens of the Niger Delta who cannot press a trigger to any horrific and degrading treatment in the search for members of Niger Delta Avengers simply because they are host communities to oil and gas companies. Military action will never bring peace in Niger Delta. It is development action. As long as those who bear the debilitating burden of shouldering the national budget are excluded from the benefits of modern civilisation, there cannot be an end to the breeding of more Isaac Boros, more Asari Dokubos, more Tompolos, more Boyloafs and more Ateke Toms in the Niger Delta. I wish to reiterate that neither the blood of Nigerian soldiers nor that of Niger Delta Youths is required to develop the Niger Delta”
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