The United States says it will partner the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in ensuring the success of the Amnesty Programme.
The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence McCulley, said this yesterday in Abuja during a courtesy call on the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe.
“I look forward to talking to you about the Amnesty Programme, prospects for the amnesty and the overall security situation in the Niger Delta.
“We want to see how the U.S. can partner with Nigeria to advance our common objective of security in Niger Delta,’’ he said.
He commended the federal government for providing an enabling environment for wide participation in the just concluded voter registration exercise.
The envoy said his country was looking forward to seeing a peaceful, transparent, free and fair elections in April.
Responding, Orubebe, who solicited for U.S. support during the general elections, expressed government’s commitment to ensuring transparent polls.
“We will ensure that the vote of every Nigerian is counted in the April general elections,” he said.
He said Nigerians registered massively in the just concluded voter registration exercise because of the transparency they saw in the conduct of PDP primaries.
The minister also said that security and environmental problems were some of the factors which hinder development in the region.
He said the federal government alone could not develop the region, noting that this informed the ministry’s partnership with the UNDP.
Orubebe said government had started construction of rail and coastal roads in the region, adding that the projects would attract investors to the Niger Delta when completed.