FG to revive ailing industries in N-Delta —Usani

By Chris Ochayi

 

ABUJA— Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, has assured that the administration was determined to revive all ailing and moribund industries in the region in order to promote peace and stability in the region.

Pastor Usani, who spoke against the backdrop of the forthcoming National Council on Niger Delta, slated for next month in Akure, Ondo State, said  there were efforts to ensure that other programmes, such as empowerment for agriculture, artisans and entrepreneurs  key into the Economic Recovery Growth Plan, ERGP.

The National Council on Niger Delta, since the creation of the ministry about nine years ago,  is supposed to be an annual event.

Participants expected at the event include private sector investors, development partners, top government functionaries from the federal and nine state governments that make up the region, traditional rulers, community leaders, International Oil Corporations, IOCs, as well as other interest groups.

According to him, “I want to express my appreciation on the role the Ondo State Government is playing and the commitment they are showing in respect of the second Niger Delta Council, which they have accepted to host.

“We have chosen Ondo State for strategic reasons because most of the time, it is presumed unconsciously that when we talk about Niger Delta, people refer to South-South states and we tend to forget that there are states outside the South-South that are part of the Niger Delta region.

“Again,  we understand the peculiarities of Ondo State in terms of the resource base, which we are determined to tap into and see how the society can benefit from it.  The government of Ondo State has been proactive in respect of the programmes of the government, vis-a-vis having consistently rolled that programme with the Economic Recovery Growth Plan.

“The Ondo State Government is the first state that has prepared an independent programme to match our initiative which is domiciled in the presidency to revive ailing industries or moribund ones as well as promote the agriculture chain to achieve exportation.

“After about nine years of the establishment of this ministry, this is the second council gathering, even though it  is supposed to be an annual event and  we are not just going to talk and return,  we are building from the outcome of the first council, linking it up with our current activities.”

and programmes as well be able to fit them into the Economic Recovery Growth Plan.”

 

 

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