The House of Representatives has stepped down a motion asking President Bola Tinubu to rescind his decision to change the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development.
The House retracted the motion sponsored by Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa) because “events have overtaken it.”
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen told the House that he met with President Tinubu last week and got the assurance that he was favourably disposed to receiving the South-South Development Commission Bill to cater for specific issues of the Niger Delta region.
He told the lawmaker that, in light of the information and because other events had already overtaken the issues within the motion, he should allow the House to step down the motion.
Also, House Leader Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) said even though the issues contained in the motion were pertinent, the conversion of the Niger Delta Development Ministry to that of the Ministry of Regional Development will not in any way deny the Niger Delta region of its due development, nor reduce its impact in the area, but only to broaden its scope to the development of other regions.
Earlier, while moving the motion, Oforji recalled that the Ministry of Niger Delta Development was created on September 10, 2008, by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who appointed Ufot Ekaette as the first Minister.
According to him, the ministry was created to promote and coordinate policies for the development, peace, unity and security of the Niger Delta Region and is expected to formulate and execute plans, programmes and other initiatives, as well as coordinate the activities of agencies, communities, donors and other relevant stakeholders involved in the development of the Niger Delta Region.
He said late President Yar’Adua had good intentions and foresight in creating the ministry to ameliorate the suffering, agitations, and neglect of the Region by successive governments for decades.
He said, “It was in the short term of late President Yar’Adua ‘s leadership from Katsina State that dialogue was initiated with significant stakeholders in the region and militants culminating in the Amnesty Progamme that has brought relative peace to the oil-rich Niger Delta Region.
“These were a prelude to the creation of the ministry, which was aimed at infrastructural development, environmental protection and empowerment of the youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta Region.
“Are we there yet? The answer is no, but the people of the Niger Delta believe that the lofty dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the region will be actualised someday, hence their embrace of the creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development”.
The lawmaker expressed concern that “on the 24th of October 2024, the oil-rich region witnessed palpable tension following the announcement of the scrapping of the ministry of Niger Delta Development by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“This is not a good omen for a region that has contributed immensely to the economic development of our country and has enjoyed some relative peace”.
