The Niger Delta Nonviolence Agitators Forum NDNAF has weighed in on the debate regarding the £4.2 million repatriated from London, urging the federal government to return the money to the Delta state coffers. National President of the Niger Delta Nonviolence Agitators, Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli said the Delta state government should use judicial means to get the money back. He said; “By now, I expect the Delta state government to have gone to court. Let them follow legal means. As a parent, you can negotiate for your child, but it doesn’t mean that your child must now give you everything he acquires in life. We however thank the federal government for helping Delta out.
“In terms of the $1.5 billion being spent on the Port Harcourt refinery, we see it as a positive development, because it is sad that we have abundant crude oil and yet cannot refine. By the time the refinery is working, it will reduce forex flight. All we need is to work with the minister and support the federal government to realise the project”, he added. The Agitators also commended governors of the region, saying since 1999, this is the first time that state governors and federal ministers are not fighting dirty in the public. They noted that since the appointment of Sylva, there have been drastic reduction in destruction of oil facilities in the Niger Delta due to his proactive gesture in addressing critical issues which would have resulted in sabotage.
According to the agitators, “the most important is the huge investments he has attracted to the Niger Delta, chief among which are the commencement of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 in the famous Bonny Island in Rivers State, the over $3.6bn Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemicals, the Oloibiri-Otabagi Oil and Gas Museum and Research Institute all in Bayelsa State and other massive projects and investments that he has facilitated and also attracted to the Niger Delta. “These huge investments and projects all have multiplier effects. They will not only create over One Hundred Thousand direct employment for our youths, they will also create indirect employment for a greater number. Air, road and river transportation businesses shall thrive. The same is applicable to hotel and hospitality businesses. But above all, the economies will boom. It will turn around the commerce and economy of our great, same with our fortunes and all areas of life. This shall translate to drastic reduction in crime and other social vices.
“For example the $3.6 Billion Dollars Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical which has AMMONIA, METHANOL, GAS PROCESSING and other Components is a very huge project and Investment that will absorb over 40,000 Bayelsans and other Nigerians. The positive impacts for now are almost indescribable because it is something that has never happened before. It is on the above note that we are using this rare opportunity to urge and also appeal to the Ministry of Petroleum and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company Limited to see how they can resolve the issue of Ten (10%) Equity with the Bayelsa State Government under Senator Douye Diri”.
