July 02, (THEWILL) – The Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, has said that he is extending the hands of fellowship to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), to seek ways of ensuring the development of the Niger Delta region, in accordance with the vision of the Willinks Commission of 1957.
Prince Amgbare said this during a courtesy visit to the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, in Abuja on Monday. He also reiterated the importance of the Authority in the Niger Delta area.
He recalled that the Authority was conceived as a special-purpose vehicle to drive development in the Niger Delta Basin. Prince Amgbare, who was at the PAP office to discuss issues of development of the Niger Delta region, recalled that when the Authority could not achieve its goals, several other agencies were set up to meet the agitations of the region.
He added that another purpose of his visit was to seek PAP’s assistance in the area of food security campaigns being embarked upon by the Authority.
His words, “My visit is primarily to forge synergy with the PAP office to drive meaningful economic development of the region in line with the vision of the Willinks Commission of 1957.
“The Niger Delta Basin Development Authority was conceived as a special purpose vehicle to drive development in the Niger Delta Basin. However, when it failed to achieve its goals, agitation in the region heightened, giving birth to other interventionist agencies like the Directorate of Food Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the latest being the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
“My mission to PAP is to seek your cooperation to drive home the ‘Food Security Is The Real Security’ campaign of the NDBDA”, Prince Amgbare added.
In his response, Dr Otuaro reiterated the commitment of the PAP office to addressing the agitation of the Niger Delta people through various development strategies, noting that agriculture is one real means to achieving human and national security.
Dr Otuaro disclosed that plans are being put in place by the Amnesty programme to expand its dragnet to include scholarship programs for non-arms bearers like women to learn vocational skills in an effort towards sustaining the desired lasting peace in the Niger Delta. He assured the NDBDA boss of PAP’s preparedness to tackle the perennial flooding and its concomitant challenges in the region together with the Authority.
Dr Otuaro commended Amgbare for sustaining a sterling track record and his dedication to the development of the Niger Delta, assuring that the two agencies will work together to achieve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the region.
His words: “I will not work at cross-purposes with you in executing Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region.”
He thanked Prince Amgbare for the visit, which he described as maiden and quite welcomed.
About the Author
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
