Notwithstanding the reservations being expressed by
some stakeholders in the Niger Delta over the outcome
of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent meeting with
Niger Delta elders led by Chief Edwin Clark and Obong
Victor Attah, National President of Southern Youths
Development Forum and convener of the National
Youths Impact Security Conference, Pastor Bassey
James, has commended the president for exploring the
option of dialogue towards resolving the crisis in the
Niger Delta.
He also lauded President Buhari for appointing a
technocrat like Ekere Nsima as the managing director of
the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),
stating that both steps were in the right direction and in
line with the Change Agenda of the government.
James said the meeting was a perfect expression of the
emphasis on dialogue as a key element for attaining
peace in the troubled oil-rich region.
He said that stakeholders and youths of the region
should necessarily trust the president and buy into the
peace initiative.
His words: “The president has started well by having his
first meeting with the elders of the Pan Niger Delta
Forum. I think the president should go a step further to
talk with the emerging youth leaders across the Niger
Delta. It should be an open-minded town-hall meeting
that is more like a father calling his children together for
a frank talk. The importance of having a dialogue cannot
be over-emphasized.
“The president must be trusted and should be trusted. I
believe that the president will do the right thing and he
has started by appointing Ekere Nsima, a seasoned
technocrat as the managing director of the Niger Delta
Development Commission. He is bringing his rich
private sector management experience to the execution
of the mandate of the commission. Again, the Minister
of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma,
is the chairman of the Board of NDDC. These two great
sons of the Niger Delta will deliver the goods.
“I want to appeal to our people in the Niger Delta to be
calm and give the president a chance. I believe very
strongly that under the leadership of Nsima, the NDDC
will kick-start the massive development of the Niger
Delta. Already, the president as I understand, is moving
to provide adequate funding for the NDDC to pursue and
achieve its core mandate. More importantly, Nsima is a
man known for prudent management of resources.
“I am convinced that he will apply this skill in managing
the NDDC. He will change the face of the NDDC and I
am sure the Buhari administration will provide every
financial and moral support that he needs to achieve the
desired result. With more funding, NDDC will do better
than it did in the recent past.”
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