Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole yesterday backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of the Niger Delta crisis.
There has been an upsurge of bombings of oil pipelines and installations by a group of militants, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
The government has deployed troops in the region to forestall further pipeline vandalism while reaching out for dialogue to ensure a lasting solution to the problem.
The government is also making moves to clean up Ogoniland, the Rivers State community where oil exploration has destroyed the environment.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari, Oshiomhole noted that the steps being taken by the President are right.
While stressing that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable, he said the destruction of installations by NDA was scaring away investors to the detriment of the region.
He said: “So if somebody, for whatever reasons, decides to destroy pipelines and thereby compound the problem of pollution, the cost of cleaning up that area, making it attractive either for fishing, farming or other business; it’s a huge cost. Cost, not just naira and kobo, cost in terms of time and in terms of human lives.
“So it doesn’t bring us closer. I think all of us ought to converge around a common idea; how do we ensure this natural endowment to be truly a blessing? And that if there are environmental issues arising from certain negligence on the part of certain key players, that as the President has shown for the first time a commitment to clean up Ogoni land and any other area; these are the things we all ought to work together and encourage the President and the Federal Government to continue to do.
“But to compound those problems by breaking pipelines, stealing crude oil and destroying farmlands, destroying water ways, I don’t see anybody benefiting from that.”
Oshiomhole said: “So, it’s very unfortunate. I think it is important to say that the Nigerian state must not be demystified by gunmen and accept that the environment will be governed by gunmen.
“No one can deny that a number of interventions have been put in place. A whole ministry has been created for Niger Delta; that is unprecedent in our history and is manned by people from the area. We have the NDDC, a commission exclusively devoted ýto addressing the challenges of the region.
“If the development has not developed faster than it is, we probably need to look inward. Why is there a gap by what is purportedly spent and what people can find on ground. These are issues this President is dealing with, the issues of corruption.
“Corruption exposed the gap between huge allocations, contracts awarded and the reality that even with torchlight you can’t find those things on ground. Even in Edo State many projects were awarded but never to the right contractors. The money is stolen and the people are just witnesses to exploitation.
“So this is the time we have a president that said he is going to fight corruption. If we can defeat corruption in the Southsouth, and if the money given to NDDC is truly used to address infrastructure, and the Niger Delta ministry will focus on addressing the challenges in the region, then we will begin to see things change.”
He does not think that the Nigeria state should submit to blackmail but should rather be respected.
He said: “For me, I believe in Nigeria. I believe no part can do without the other, I believe our unity is not negotiable. I believe the responsibility of the political elite is to strengthen the bridge of unity, to discourage preaching hatred, implify weak points rather work to strengthen those points.
“I salute our armed forces for what they are doing and the confidence they have brought back to our security.”
On Buhari’s handling of the region, Oshiomhole said: “What I can say is that this president deserves the support of everyone and there is no part of Nigeria that can be better off without the other part. The sooner we accept this reality the better it is for all of us.
“The days of ethnic champions and imigenary divides will not help anyone. I believe that the President has shown leadership; he has shown determination to keep the country going. For once we are enjoying respect ýin world capitals, in different continents.
“Part of the challenge we are facing today is that quite a number of our young people are out of job. Even in our budget the president on his own without prompting, decided to devote as much as half a trillion naira ýto social investments that are targeted at the poorest among us.”
