From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Federal Government yesterday continued its consultation meeting with the nine states in the Niger Delta region as well as international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region and other stakeholders to sustain the peace and ongoing development in the area.
The quarterly meeting of the stakeholders in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Abuja, yesterday had in attendance Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, representatives of other state governors, IOCs and stakeholders.
The meeting was a follow-up to the first sitting in February to harmonise the process of awarding contracts for projects by the agencies of government, as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives executed by oil firms in the region.
Government was convinced that duplication of projects and perceived competition between various agencies and the IOCs in the execution of projects were responsible for abandoned projects and projects that have little or no impact on the people.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani, expressed satisfaction with the cooperation and support received from the IOCs and other stakeholders who resolved to key into the harmonisation template being prepared by government.
He said: “There was a general agreement in our maiden stakeholders’ meeting in February that all government and private agencies concerned with developmental projects in the region must key into the template.
“We do not only expect them to feed us with their programmes but also supply the specifics of the projects and it must be clearly imputed in the template. This is to eradicate the issues of duplication of projects, which has been responsible for increase in abandoned projects.”
Dickson was unhappy that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has made little impact considering the huge financial allocations to the commission since it was established.
He said: “NDDC has enormous potential to transform the lives of people of Niger Delta but the otherwise seems to be the case.
“They might have executed some developmental projects but it doesn’t end there. The expectations of people are high and they need not disappoint them even though they need more financial and logistics support from the government to perform better.
“My main worry is on how state governments could play a role in the financial contributions of IOCs to NDDC coffers.
“State governments must have a say on how NDDC funds are spent and must be directed to specific projects that would have the capacity to transform the lives of the people.
“I was informed that IOCs makes financial contributions that run into billions of dollars to NDDC but the funds are allegedly mismanaged on unnecessary projects.
“In Bayelsa State, for instance, we have our priorities clearly set and all we (want) is to tell us how much money from the NDDC funds is due to Bayelsa State using whatever formula, and we would use it wisely to transform the lives of our people.”