Amayanabo of Twua Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, has called on the youths of the region to galvanise themselves into being part of the benefit from the region instead of destroying it, noting that the degradation is to their own disadvantage.
Diete-Spiff was the first military of governor of Rivers State.
The royal father stated this in Port Harcourt, last weekend, during a one day stakeholder’s interactive forum with the theme: Balancing the scales, making the Niger-Delta an Equal partner, organised by the Niger-Delta Energy Service.
Lamenting the devastating effect of oil/gas sabotage on our economy, acacia lives and the people etc., King Spiff, while observing that the region is blessed with lots of manpower and skills called on the youth among others to unify in the quest for their right from Federal Government through diplomatic and systematic dialogue instead of destroying pipelines.
Furthermore, he advised them to avail themselves with learning skills as part of ways to live self-dependence. In his language, ‘’It is time for the youth to organised themselves to be part of the benefit of our region.”
Contributively, while advising them to exploit our rich environment as a way of diversification from oil/gas to enrich themselves, King Spiff introduced them to mushroom farming, saying that it is not capitally intensive, simple to start and it is cash fetching because of its world-wide constant demand due to its enriching economic benefit.
He used the occasion also to commend Star Delta Energy Service for their vision and called on the people of the region to embrace it since its aims and objectives gears towards encouraging the spring up of indigenous companies.
Mr. Olisa Peter Okocha, who is the Managing Director of the Star Delta Energy Service, organiser of the forum while calling on all communities of the region to embrace and key into the set modules for developing the area, said that the vision was a product of pondering on the persistent restiveness and Federal Government’s unrealistic approach by way of sharing the benefits from the region. Therefore, it was time to ensure that every community of oil/gas producing areas have a direct ownership stakes in the resources exploited on its land, with the view to bringing about deserving development in such community.
Advertisement
He explained that following the unholistic stewardship either by the Niger Delta Resources of the Niger Deltans or the FG’s, part of the solution to the problem is to structure out an administrative system which they have put in place that will bring about a balance for every community across the region if adopted by them.
Encouraging other communities to key into SPV system as its plan is to open an office at all the LGAs across the region, he disclosed that some communities in Delta State have already keyed into it. Reiterated that the idea is to ensure that every local communities are fully represented and make decisions that will make them benefit from whatever proceed of their land. Maintaining that the era is gone where international oil companies with divide and rules approach will be discovering the benefits from our land.
Okocha also used the medium to call for immediate revocation of all oil and gas blocks awarded to non-Niger Deltans by the Fed government since the abnormalities and partial sharing of the resource are the worms responsible for underdevelopment and the crisis in the region over years.
Similarly, Waribigha Ebi Allias Skido, a Niger Delta activist and sustainable community development consultant practitioner, while commending the noble course of the organisers, he used the occasion to call on the Federal Government to quickly implement a process that will bring about the review of the current land use Act because the communities in the region was not properly consulted or carried along during the time of the enactment, therefore, it was not in the interest of the oil and gas producing communities.
Further, he used the occasion to caution politicians especially those from the Niger-Delta against the use of Ogoni clean-up as a political jingle jagons because it is not to be politicalised.
0 comments:
Post a Comment