The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Friday, asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the omission of a minister of Niger Delta affairs in his cabinet, as submerging the ministry will not augur well with the region.
Recall that on Wednesday, Tinubu assigned portfolios to minister-designates, some days after they were confirmed by the Senate but the Niger Delta affairs ministry was omitted from the list.
Following a meeting of its Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee, PANDEF, via a communique expressed “great surprise” that no portfolio was designated to the existing ministry of Niger Delta affairs.
The communique, jointly signed by Edwin Clark, PANDEF’s convener, and Emmanuel Essien, National Chairman of the Forum, reminded Tinubu that the ministry was created specifically to “focus on infrastructural development, environmental protection and empowerment of youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.”
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According to the group, the ministry, which was created by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2008, was sustained under former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, to advance the course of the peace in the Niger Delta region.
“Any misguided step toward scrapping or submerging the ministry will create an unfavourable environment with adverse consequences,” PANDEF warned.
It further cautioned the Federal Government to “desist from tampering with any institution(s) which along with the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, have been flagship institution(s), to ensure peace and development in the Niger Delta region.”
PANDEF expressed hope that the Federal Government will be properly advised on the matter, adding that its leadership and the people of the region are committed to enduring peace and stability in the overall interest of the country.
