Development, Key To Peace In Niger Delta, Says NDDC boss
 6th Feb 2007

The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe, has said that the best guarantee for peace and security in the Niger Delta region is to sustain the current tempo of development, especially as enunciated in the Regional Development Master Plan, driven by the NDDC.

Speaking while receiving participants of Course 29 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, led by Brig.-Gen. Kingsley Unogwu to the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Alaibe said the current trend in achieving development is how to forge partnership among all segments of the polity, pointing out that there is a link between security and development, and called on the armed forces to join in the sustainable development effort of the region.

“ We believe the issue of the Niger Delta is more about sustainable development, and if we are able to resolve that, the security issue will be minimal, and then there will be some level of peace”, Alaibe said, adding that the commission is becoming the “flag-ship in policy direction and strategy for sustainable development in the region”.

He said with the attention of the commission now focused on law and development, there was need for an appropriate legislation that will entrench the policy guidelines of the master plan to compel successive governments sustain the development efforts in the region.

Fielding questions from the participants on how the NDDC has been addressing the problems of the region, Alaibe explained that the commission had set out with an interim action plan that took care of the things that generated crises in the region, while it has completed the master plan setting out policies and guidelines that will ensure its sustainable development.

According to the NDDC boss, the master plan, which is now in operation, is the best bet for the strategic development of the region, urging all stakeholders to key into the master plan.

Earlier, Unogwu who said the participants were in the state on a week-long study were in the NDDC in view of the Herculean task the commission is undertaking in the region. Given the enormous task before the commission, he recommends increased funding to enable the commission sustain its activities.

Responding on behalf of the participants, Lt.-Comdr. Frances Nyarko said they were now better informed of what is happening in the Niger Delta and its challenges, as well as the efforts of the NDDC in solving the problems of the region. “All issues agitating our minds have been cleared”, he said.

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