Vice President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday announced that the delayed all-inclusive Niger- Delta summit which is being planned is now to hold in October.The proposed summit is to among other things fashion a road map towards the involvement of every stakeholder on board to deliberate and agree on workable programmes of development for the Niger Delta.
Addressing a 15-man delegation of House committee members on Niger- Delta Development, led by Hon. Ajayi Agbola, at the State House Abuja, Jonathan said that the Niger Delta Summit is the desire of all stakeholders, and crucial to determining a way forward, saying �this is in line with President Yar�Adua�s� commitment to bring peace and progress to the area.�
The Vice President called on members of the National Assembly to help in making Laws that will encourage development of the Niger-Delta area, stressing the need to work closely with the federal government and all stakeholders towards the development of the region.Dr. Jonathan said that government is faced with two key issues which he said were peace and security, noting, �the issue of security has been largely addressed and peace has gradually returned to the area.�According to him, �government is now on the verge of bringing development to the area to show the indigenes its seriousness about developing the region�; he said and called on the committee members to join hands with all stakeholders (the Federal Government, States and NDDC) in ensuring the development of the region.
While congratulating committee members for their appointment to serve, Dr. Jonathan stressed the relevance of the committee to the actualization of government objectives in the Niger Delta. He also advised on the need to judiciously complement government�s efforts with their oversight functions by taking time to travel to the Niger- Delta for monitoring and supportive purposes.Earlier Hon. Agboola expressed members� satisfaction on the manner government has handled the Niger- Delta question so far, saying, �government has shown genuine interest by bringing to the barest minimum, the violence in the Niger Delta,� adding, �government should also be applauded for bringing to normalcy the political situation in Port Harcourt.� Speaking further, Agboola said that �that the Vice President�s visit to the creeks was unprecedented by any administration. This has shown great seriousness and we shall all carry out our responsibility with equal seriousness.�He observed that the NDDC, which was created to supervise and ensure development of the Niger Delta, was unable to meet up with its set objectives, because of inadequate funding, which he noted affected the NDDC operations over the years.He promising that the Committee will employ its oversight functions to ensure proper implementation of development programmes earmarked for the region, he thanked government for all its peace moves and for bringing together all stakeholders towards developing the Niger Delta