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| Emmanuel Uduaghan |
The former governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan has explained why he dumped the People’s Democratic Party for the ruling party, All
Progressives Congress in a signed document titled Moving on to the bigger
playing field
READ THE FULL TEXT BELOW
The toughest challenge for any leader in the Niger Delta since 1997 has
been the issue of Peace and Security.
For over 12 years, I was deeply involved in
the management of the issues of the region, first as Secretary to State
Government, SSG, and then as Governor of Delta State for 8 years.
Strategically, we had ENGAGEMENT as our major
tool. This involved government officials, with me in the forefront (sometimes
personally going into the creeks without security at nocturnal hours),
community leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, our youths, retired
military officers, activists, etc. Of course, ensuring that Delta State Oil
Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, was active was also part of
the engagement process.
ENCOURAGING INTERESTS, ACTIVITIES
Since the inception of the current All
Progressives Congress, APC, the administration at the federal level, there has
been an encouraging interest and activities by President Muhammadu Buhari to
bring a permanent solution to the Niger Delta crisis. This has pointed in a
direction that is at once progressive and developmental.
Topmost in these activities are the
ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES. Rather than using the military to harass our people, the
Buhari administration has embarked on various engagement processes that have
led to agreements and brought hope to the people of the Niger Delta.
In the last years, Mr. President has
personally engaged several regional leaders and youths. Senior officials of his
administration also engaged many Niger Delta leaders and youths. Very
significant is that Mr President mandated the Vice President Prof Yemi Osibajo
SAN, to visit virtually all the oil-producing states, engaging various
stakeholders. This is unprecedented in the history of the region. Such
engagement processes have brought some measure of peace in the Niger Delta.
Things can only get better.
Beyond the engagement processes, however, the
Buhari administration has embarked on some infrastructural and human capital
development activities in the region. In Delta State, the opening of a Maritime
University; the setting up of a steering committee for the EPZ (GAS CITY), the
plan for a deep sea port, the dredging of the Escravos-Warri River; the opening
of the railway line to Delta Steel Company, the soon to be flagged off, by Mr.
President, the Omadino-Escravos Road that will pass through many riverine
communities; the various road construction works by the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC), the various TCN projects across the State are some of the
positive activities in the region.
There are also various human capital
development programmes especially the school feeding and the “social security
net” that is making 5,000 Naira available to the poor, the continuation of the
YouWin programme, the various SME programmes, and several other projects across
the region have brought hope to the people.
Indeed, once Mr President was able to set his
priorities pursuant to creating an environment for peace in the region, it
became incumbent on every well-meaning Niger Deltan and Nigerian to assist the
process of building an economically prosperous nation.
In this era of partisan politics, it is
necessary for the people of the Niger Delta, and Delta State, in particular, to
identify more with the Federal Government led by the APC. By so doing, we can
push some of the agreements between our leaders and the Federal Government
through, and also engage the government to do more. Politics is about
interests.
The Niger Delta is a major area of interest
for me because I staked my life going into the creeks severally without
security and sometimes coming back at night negotiating peace. I will,
therefore, give the strongest support to any President that shows commitment in
the affairs of the Niger Delta.
I call on, and enjoin, other well-meaning
leaders in the region, who have very useful contributions to make, to come on
board and join hands in helping this Federal Government to pursue a robust
development agenda that would uplift our people. Whatever milestone that
appears not to have been achieved yet is not for lack of efforts. Joining hands
with and supporting the process will lead to a faster delivery of expectations.
It is in the pursuit of this noble objective
that I’m offering myself to help drive a process that would give the lives of
our people in the Niger Delta more meaning. President Muhammadu Buhari needs
people who will join hands with him to uplift our people. From my political
experience, you have to be well represented and actively so at the “boardroom”
when decisions are being taken. Delta State must be well represented. Niger
Delta must be well represented.
It is noteworthy to state that some
organisations have been deeply involved in efforts to develop the Niger Delta
and can always be relied on to collaborate with our President. It is also
noteworthy to add that some previous administrations made significant efforts
to develop the region.
The current administration made such a
significant impact in spite of the fact that apart from Edo State, President
Buhari did not score the required 25% in the entire Niger Delta in the election
that brought him into government in 2015.
This speaks volume of his genuineness to
uplift the Niger Delta. Such an administration should be encouraged by the
people of the Niger Delta. We can never be sure of the genuineness of another
person who becomes the President.
I have, therefore, after a series of
consultations and prayers, taken the decision to leave the PDP and join the
APC. In doing this, I want to thank the numerous leaders, supporters and
interest groups that have been urging me to remain in PDP. I am happy that after
explaining some of the deeper issues to you, some of you that are politicians
have agreed to join the APC in the near future. So I am going into APC as “John
the Baptist” to the numerous Deltans that are coming in, soon – very soon.
God bless you all.
