Govt to build new towns in oil producing areas
From Kelechi Okoronkwo, Abuja and Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt

FEDERAL Government has concluded plans to build new towns in select oil producing communities in the Niger Delta region, to fast track development in the area.

However, a group of militants in the region has demanded for the removal of Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Ufot Ekaette, over alleged frosty project execution deals.

The new town initiative is expected to cover all the states in the oil producing region, with a targeted population of at least 10,000 people in each of the towns.

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Ufot Ekaette met representatives of the nine state governors in the region yesterday on the proposed new towns.

Briefing newsmen after the closed door meeting which lasted for about four hours, Ekaette said the stakeholders had agreed that the new towns should be sited in select oil producing communities in the region.

He explained that the agreement was in response to perceived need of rehabilitating the ecologically disadvantaged oil producing communities.

The new town initiative of the Federal Government is aimed at building a cluster of communities and equipping them with infrastructural facilities; an effort officials said would improve businesses and standard of living of the people.

Ekaette said he was happy with the outcome of the meeting, stating that the turnout of the participants showed that the states were ready to partner with the ministry in the development of the region.

Some of the participants who spoke to newsmen after the meeting said the states had submitted bill of quantities and engineering drawings on the project to the ministry.

Ekaette said: "It was a very fruitful meeting. We discussed the issues of the implementation of the new town development. We felt that there is no way we can make meaningful progress without partnering with the states, and we are going to be meeting often.

"We have to carry out pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of the areas. We laid emphasis on the oil producing areas to use the project to impact on their lives", he said.

He added: "The concept of the new towns for the Niger Delta is borne out of government's earnest desire to dramatically improve the living standards of the people, change the outlook of the Niger Delta and provide the environment for sustainable peace and development.

"The new towns which are to be developed in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers States will involve creating new communities with at least 10,000 persons in each of the states.

"So far, a detailed brief on the programme has been developed by the ministry while consultants will soon be selected to tender for the feasibility study and design of the projects, it is time for more actions and less speeches as the people have been yearning for development for many years."

The minister also said he project would be completed in a period of six months.

Special Adviser to Imo State government on Niger Delta Affairs, Okere Tony Eze, who spoke to the press said the state had provided a 50-hectre of land, part of which is at Ohaji Egbuna communities for the project.

Eze said: "This is going to be synergistic effort between the state and the federal government. This approach is very important because it is a bottom-up approach. This is the first time the government is consulting the people on their needs, asking the states, at what places do we insert the new towns."

Meanwhile, Niger Delta militants, under the aegis of the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), have demanded the immediate removal of the Minister of Niger Delta and the termination of all duplicated projects of that ministry.

The minister has however, refuted the allegation of the militants, describing it as lacking in substance.

JRC spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, complained that some of the projects include the Ekeremor-Agge road in Bayelsa State and the Niger Delta coastal road, which is supposed to link up key coastal communities in the Niger Delta.

Whyte pointed out that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had years ago awarded the contract for the design of the Niger Delta Coastal road project, yet the Ministry is about to re-award another contract for the same project.

"Our demand is driven by reports from various groups in the Niger Delta about the dubious and treacherous duplication of projects across the length and breadth of the Niger Delta by officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta."

Whyte said many of the ministry's planned projects that have already been rolled out by either some of the various states of the Niger Delta or the NDDC. What this means, according to the JRC, is that the ministry did not harmonize its objectives before going ahead to plan on the projects.

"This blatant attempt at project duplicating is a plot by a dubious cabal to extinguish funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta because the deadline for the use of funds for government parastatals is set for March. Clearly, they do not want to refund money to the federal purse" said Whyte.

The militants demand that all such contracts be terminated immediately and funds budgeted for them be channeled to more useful projects that would impact on the people of the Niger Delta. The cost of these project duplication runs into large tens of billions of naira, JRC said.

"We condemn this attempt to shortchange, hoodwink and undermine the people of the Niger Delta and demand that the recently convened Presidential Project Monitoring and assessment team immediately investigate these and other cases of project duplication which have been severally reported by various groups across the Niger Delta"

The minister's mouthpiece, Soni Daniel, told The Guardian yesterday on phone that the ministry has not been involved in any contract duplication, rather it has been working with various stakeholders in the region to drive a more coordinated development of the region.






Tools

A good avenue to siphon money. Laudable project if do-able, though.

the FG and all their empty promises. I remember back in 2007 when they supposedly came out with the Niger Delta master plan and were suppose to have begun implementing it, but nothing has changed since them. Supposed to have a road and rail system in region, but where is either? They should do less talking and action. They should tell us of these things once they on ground. Plus I've lost faith in FG to execute any project. I can't put finger on one project they have successfully delivered. They should just get out the way and give states more power so that the governors that have REAL plans can begin to execute.