The Niger Delta Congress ,NDC, has called on governors of Niger-Delta region on the need to have an emergency roundtable meeting that would forestall the economic plight and aspiration of the region. The group who described the unemployment statistics for the Niger Delta region by the National Bureau of Statistics ,NBS as staggering, in a statement by it’s acting spokesman, Adokiye Oyegigiri, explained that: “The data showed that unemployment in the region grew from 32% in the third quarter of 2018 to 37% in 2020. This means that over five million Niger Deltans have no jobs.
“We call on governors of the Niger Delta states to as a matter of urgency to convene an emergency economic round table session to discuss the economic autonomy plights and aspirations of the people of the region in the shortest possible time, to forestall a complete economic emasculation of the Niger Delta people and region.
“Failure to do this will embolden the oppressive economic policies of the Nigerian State on the people of the region and further deepen the poverty and unemployment index. The people will hold the leadership of the region responsible if they fail to deliver on this”.
The statement read in parts “The Niger Delta Congress has received the unemployment statistics for the Niger Delta region as released by the National Bureau of Statistics with trepidation. The unemployment data showed that unemployment in the region grew from 32% in the third quarter of 2018 to 37% in 2020. This means that over five million Niger Deltans have no jobs. Further analysis of the figures by the NDC shows that apart from Bayelsa State, the other five states in the region have an unemployment and underemployment rate of over 50% of the workforce The NDC notes that this continued increase in the unemployment rate in the region is as a result of the debilitating economic policies and laws of the Nigerian state, which continues to entrench underdevelopment to benefit a select few at the expense of an overwhelming majority. It is against this backdrop that the Niger Delta people have clamoured for economic autonomy for over six decades.
“It is also an indictment on the Nigerian state that the region responsible for over 70% of its foreign exchange earnings, and over 90% of its budget expenditure, has a population the size of the entire countries of Uruguay, Equatorial Guinea, and Iceland combined to be unemployed. This is unacceptable to the Niger Delta people and the Niger Delta Congress. It is important that the Nigerian state understands that there exists academic proof of correlation between high unemployment rates and violent crimes. With the substantial proliferation of small arms in the region, the chances of increasing violence and general instability for the region and country are high. The consequent ripple effect of this on the country and its economy, has already been felt before.
“The Niger Delta Congress therefore calls on the governors of the Niger Delta states to as a matter of urgency convene an emergency economic round table session to discuss the economic autonomy plights and aspirations of the people of the region in the shortest possible time, to forestall a complete economic emasculation of the Niger Delta people and region. Failure to do this will embolden the oppressive economic policies of the Nigerian State on the people of the region and further deepen the poverty and unemployment index. The Niger Delta Congress and people will hold the leadership of the region responsible if they fail to deliver on this”.
