The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru, on Monday, said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was able to establish an enduring peace in the Niger Delta regions with the implementation of projects that cut across all communities in the area.
Uguru said this while giving his scorecard as a minister for the past three years. He said projects that were successfully executed by all the departments in the ministry had a positive impact on education, commerce and general infrastructural development in the Niger Delta, stressing the need to sustain the effort for lasting harmony.
He said, “Our sustained interest to the development of the Niger Delta region had on assumption of duty imposed on us the necessity to adopt an implementable strategy, apply new thinking as well as act responsibly towards the pervasive feeling of neglect and providing solutions to the problems of the region.
“The 2015-2018 scorecard document encapsulates the initiatives, activities and the key achievements of the ministry in our commitment to transforming the Niger Delta for peace, security, and prosperity.”
According to the scorecard presented by the minister, the department of community development and education in the ministry implemented programs and projects which improved community relations and engagement in the region. He said such effort also ensured mediation and conflict resolutions between feuding communities.
He said that the department also engaged in enlightenment campaign for women against HIV/AIDs, rollback malaria, and cancer.
The minister added that between 2015 and 2018, the economic empowerment department of the ministry was able to train hundreds of youths under various entrepreneurship programmes, established nine integrated oil palm processing plants in Umuehihe with eight of them yet to be completed. He stated that a similar project in Egbelu community in Imo State was at 35 per cent completion as of January 2019.
