Former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has called on Niger Delta Avengers to cease forthwith their activities just as he urged the Federal Government to deploy the Carrot and Stick strategy to curtail threat to the economy and the environment of the region.
Uduaghan, who was speaking as a Special Guest of Honour at the 12th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday, also tasked the Federal Government to involve governors of the Niger-Delta region in the engagement process for lasting end to insurgency in the region.
He said the amnesty programme failed because governors of the region were not part of the implementation process.
“The amnesty did not achieve what it was set out to achieve because the governors were not involved. The states should be involved. The biggest threat in the Niger Delta is that our land is seriously polluted especially water,” he said.
He further called for special attention to be given to development of the region.
Uduaghan noted that pollution from oil exploration has impacted heavily on the environment. He recalled that as a growing child in communities in the region the rivers were clean to the extent that you could see underneath the waters.
The former governor, who said he was very excited with the focus of the theme of the conference on agriculture, charged the media to help achieve a mindset change that will promote the gains in investing in the agricultural sector.
He recalled that as a governor, he introduced what he termed ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ in his state, stressing that it was time Nigeria looked beyond oil.
He said it was the task before the media to get the young and old to see the wealth in the agricultural sector
“I need to highlight the major problem we have today in the country, I believe the media can help us set an agenda to deal with it . Our people should accept that farming, agriculture is a means of economic success. We need a major mind change,” he said.
