United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Executive Director of UNITAR, Dr. Carles Lopse, has said that the problem with the Niger Delta was more of image management and rumour than security threat.
He stated this while fielding questions from Government House correspondents in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, shortly after holding a close door meeting with Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi where he observed that reports of incidents in the region were overblown.
According to the UN chief, there is need to separate speculations from facts, stressing that what he had seen was crime not beyond the normal that occur in other parts of the world.
He added that “a lot of people live here, and they do not encounter any banditry or any security problem different from what they would find in many other countries, and different parts of Nigeria.”
Such rumours and reports blown out of proportion, he pointed out, was meant to scare investors and visitors to the region and counseled that the issue of managing information flow to the public to ensure it reflects reality should be pursued.
Feb192009