Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Friday condemned in strong terms the purported scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and called for reversal to status quo.
President Tinubu had on Wednesday, among other far-reaching decisions and policy statements, announced the scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
He equally created the Ministry of Regional Development to superintend over all zonal interventionist bodies in the countries like the Niger Delta Development Commission, North East Development Commission etc.
However, Frank in a statement in Abuja described the President’s action concerning the abolition of the Niger Delta Ministry as “hasty and biased” without due consideration to the history, purpose, symbolism and significance of the ministry.
He recalled that the ministry was created by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory as a child of necessity to help rev up economic development of the Niger Delta Region by carrying out focused critical interventions to revitalise the degraded eco-system occasioned by long years of oil exploration and production.
He recalled that since its creation, incidences of youth restiveness and damage to oil installations which germane to the economic survival of the country have been reduced to the barest minimum.
He wondered why the President would choose to increase the economic and social burdens of Niger Deltans instead of lighten them.
Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, said: “The President took this overly biased and hasty decision to scrap a Ministry which hitherto symbolised integration, hope, economic and environmental wellbeing of the people of Niger Deltans whose resources are being continuously exploited to service other regions, the devastating environmental impact on the people notwithstanding.
“It is obvious that this biased highly discriminatory, oppressive decision was taken without any iota dialogue with or regard for the leaders and people of the Niger Delta Region and we call on the President to urgently reverse this knee-jerk decision and restore the ministry in the interest of peace, economic wellbeing of the federation and survival and sustainability of the people of the region.
“We dare say that the development of Niger Delta as the goose that lays the golden egg and too critical to be subsumed under the Ministry of Regional Development where it would obvious be starved of attention due to political exigencies in favour of other regions.
“Is it not suspicious that President Tinubu created a Ministry of Livestock Development to appease and curtail the incidences of farmers/Herders crisis in the North, but chose abolish a ministry created to solve youth restiveness and and incessant crises and agitations for resource control in the Niger Delta?”
“Is it unfortunate that the President has chosen to disdain and disrespect and victimise the Niger Delta people by treating them like an outcast not minding that it is the Region that creates the greater percentage of the nation’s common wealth.
“How have the people of Niger Delta region and their illustrious leaders offended the President to warrant this fiat reversal of their fortunes and symbol of belongingness?
“We believe it is not too late for the President to press the undo button capable of saving the region from impending cataclysmic upheavals that may result from this obnoxious action.
“It is important to note that the ministry was born out of negotiation and any subsequent actions concerning ministry must be through negotiations and dialogue.
“We hereby call on the president to heed to the call of Chief E.K Clark as the leader and pride of the Niger Delta Region and also the call by Alhaji Asari Dokubo who is one of his major supporters in the region, to reverse the vindictive decision immediately and call a stakeholders’ meeting for dialogue.
“Above all, the President must be prepared to take full responsibility of the actions of the Niger Delta people if and when they decide to react to this monumental injustice and victimization.”