Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, though was intended to inject energy into the team, it might have thrown up more questions than answers, especially for the people of Niger Delta.
One of the highpoints of his decision was the scrapping of the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, a portfolio dedicated to the people of the oil-rich region and their development needs. But with the ministry now fused into the newly created Regional Development Ministry, the region appears shortchanged. Perhaps, inadvertently.
This is where it gets even more confounding. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), an idea created by law and servicing nine coastal southern states, which include the traditional six from the South-south (Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River and Edo) and the three in focus, had long ceased to be a property of the Niger Delta. At least, not any more.
But, also benefitting from special development initiative are Ondo, Imo and Abia States. These are geographical locations outside of the Niger Delta. While Ondo is in the South West, Imo and Abia are in the South East.
However, with the creation of the Regional Development Ministry, in which the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry has been scrapped, the Niger Delta has none to call its own again outside of the general regional idea.
But same cannot be said of Ondo, Imo and Abia States that are also part of the South East Development Commission and the South West Development Commission.
Thus, while there’s no law creating any regional ministry or development commission for the Niger Delta, the trio of Ondo, Imo Abia enjoy dual benefits from the new regional ministry and their respective development commissions.
It, therefore, seemed that a foremost Ijaw national leader and founder, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, understood the lacuna and was the first to raise the alarm.
He has since faulted the scrapping of the Niger Delta ministry, and particularly worried that Tinubu did not consult widely with the leaders of the region before taking the decision.
Clark, in a telephone interview with journalists in Abuja, said the administrative structure created in form of the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry was misunderstood because of its complex structure.
“What I’ve noted so far is that there’s no basis for scrapping it. The late president Umaru Musa-Yar’Adua had a clear purpose to address the security situation in the Niger Delta.
“This led to the creation of the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, which focused on developing the Niger Delta area. We have been working for some time now, managing our commission.
“The administrative structure created by the President was unfortunately, misunderstood by Nigerians due to its complexity. Why would you take over a ministry without any development plans, funding, or concrete actions?
“Even the East-West Road, which was meant to be under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, is not being addressed; it’s being handed back to the Ministry of Works.
“What I’m saying is that the federal government lacks special arrangements for this. When I saw that every region was establishing its own development commissions, I anticipated these issues would arise. Are there going to be multiple ministries within one region?
“The government needs to consult with the leaders of the Niger Delta and the South-South regions. What we’re saying is that these unresolved issues cannot be overlooked by the government. The government must explain why they decided to halt critical legislation.
“This raises concerns about how the benefits of regional development are being managed. Many people feel disconnected from the process, and it seems resources are being diverted from local needs.
“We need to ensure that regional development isn’t scrapped without a clear plan for its replacement. In a democratic system, the government should be created for the people, by the people, and for their benefit. It shouldn’t operate as a one-man show.”
Although the minister in charge of the newly created Ministry of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, who also supervised the scrapped Ministry of Niger Delta Development Affairs, tried to explain away the unintended complication.
Insisting that the NDDC was still in place, the minister explained that the Ministry of Niger Delta Development was renamed and given a greater responsibility under the Ministry of Regional Development.
He explained that the new ministry was created to supervise all the agencies under the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and other regional commissions in the country.
“For our people over there in the Niger Delta region, I would like them to know that, that has not removed anything from them.
“The NDDC is still very much in place, which is still under the Ministry of Regional Development and all other such agencies are there. It’s just a question of change of nomenclature,” he said.
He advised that nobody from the Niger Delta region should feel that the Ministry of Niger Delta has been scrapped, and no more in existence.
“All the structures and everything about the Niger Delta remains. It’s just a change of nomenclature and, of course, expansion of activities of the ministry. So, I think it’s something worth to be commended,” he said.
Whether or not the minister’s argument is able to placate the feeling that is beginning to manifest from the region is yet to be seen. But, clearly, this curious development has put Ondo, Imo and Abia in vantage positions with better, if not higher economic advantages.
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