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(BLACK BRITAIN) Nigerian president promises master plan to tackle violence and poverty in the Delta

Nigerian president promises master plan to tackle violence and poverty in the Delta
Our strategy is to nibble continuously on the oil industry until they are crippled.
MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo

The government of President Umaru Yar'Adua says it is serious about tackling the root causes of violence and poverty in Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta with a ‘master plan’ to develop the region and provide basic services. Yar'Adua’s new budget proposal for 2008 commits 69 billion naira (US $566 million) to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for 2008, more than twice last year's federal budget allotment for the commission. "[The Niger Delta will become] Africa's most prosperous, most peaceful and most pleasant region by 2020," according to Davies Okarevu of the NDDC, which is charged with implementing the master plan. Representatives from the commission met with representatves from the region in southeastern town of Calabar in mid-November.

In the next 15 years some US $50 billion will be spent by federal, state, and local governments, as well as oil companies and private foundations to improve the region's infrastructure, environment and economy. The plan is based on three five-year phases which include specific projects to build roads, sanitation systems and support businesses. This would be a transformation for a region where currently seven out of 10 people lack basic amenities.

Since oil was discovered in the Niger Delta in 1956 the region has been the seat of the nation's massive wealth, yet the more than 1,500 communities that have become host to oil facilities are some of the poorest in the country. Many are crippled by oil spills and other environmental problems. Two decades of frustration have spawned an array of militant groups who claim to be fighting for the welfare of the region's 31.2 million inhabitants. Attacks on oil facilities and the kidnapping of oil workers have slowed oil production, costing multi-national companies and the Nigerian government billions of dollars in revenue

In recent weeks one of the leading militant groups, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has stepped up attacks on installations in the industry with the aim of deterring investors. "Our strategy is to nibble continuously on the oil industry until they are crippled,” MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo, explained by e-mail. "Our wealth should be used to develop and not oppress us," he said. The current master plan is the fifth attempt since Nigeria's independence in 1960 to tackle poverty in the Niger Delta region.

Labels: MINING CONTRACTS, NIGERIA

posted by MrK @ 10:13 PM