Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says President Muhammadu Buhari has kept to his words on developing the Niger Delta region.
Osinbajo said this in a speech at the maiden matriculation of the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta state.
He said the institution is a proof of the “unwavering commitment” of the Buhari administration to the development and progress of the region.
The vice-president was represented by Edobor Iyamu, his senior special assistant to the president on economic matters.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of his words and he has made that clear over and over again with regards to the Niger Delta, in the last four years,” Osinbajo said.
“The seriousness with which we view the Niger Delta informed the series of unprecedented engagements that resulted in the comprehensive development Plan known as the New Vision for the Niger Delta; with the goal of ensuring that the huge resources of the Delta are put to work for the good of the people of the region.
“That New Vision has guided us every step of the way, and is what has helped propel the Ogoni Clean Up to fruition, and helped birth this University in which we are gathered today.”
The vice-president added that the federal government is focused on developing the human capital of the Niger Delta in different sectors, noting that in the near future, the region would not only be known for its oil and gas potential, but also in the quality of its human capital resources.
He also noted the ongoing Ogoni clean-up and remediation efforts, the establishment of modular refineries in the region and the presidential amnesty programme have helped to maintain the peace and stability on the region, and the gas flare commercialisation programme, aimed at ending gas-flaring in the region.
“These and more are examples of how we are walking the talk in the Niger Delta region, which we view not in terms of its past, but in terms of its potential. And this is a potential that is not limited to oil and gas, but is actually focused more on the development of human capital. We are confident that the Niger Delta will sooner than later come to be defined, not by crude oil, but by the quality of its human resource, the abundance of its agriculture, its rich cultural potential, and so on,” he said.
“And while the remediation is ongoing, there are also a lot of efforts aimed at ensuring that affected communities enjoy basic amenities like clean water, and that jobs and training opportunities are extended to them.”
