[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, has appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to sheathe their swords and give President Muhammadu Buhari more time to look into their demands.
“Our environment is already polluted and is in dire need of restoration, destroying oil pipelines and installations would further destroy our environment and expose our people to sickness and untold hardship. It would worsen our already bad situation and expose innocent women, children and youths to grave danger, he said in a statement Monday signed by Clara Braide, Special Assistant, Communications.
“At the end of the day it is the Region that will be badly damaged and set backwards. NDDC is not resting on its oars in our efforts to finding a peaceful and permanent resolution of issues of development as the Commission has strategic intervention plans that should transform the Region. To achieve this however, peace is a must, he maintained.
“We appeal to NDA to still give the Government and Stakeholders more time. Resuming hostilities will be detrimental to all parties involved whether the NDA, the Region or the Government.
“The Region is the Goose that lays the Golden Egg; it is our collective patrimony and should not be destroyed. We would be doing a great disservice to ourselves and our future generations if we continue to destroy our own God given heritage in order to prove points that are already proven”.
“I passionately appeal to the conscience of our people to give the Region a chance to heal. Give us a chance to rebuild and restore the glory of our Region”, he said.
He stressed that the damage done will be felt by the Region that is already overstretched and earnestly needs rapid development.
Ndoma-Egba further emphasized that President Buhari means well for the Niger Delta Region and has already demonstrated this in various ways and would continue to address the issues.
The NDA’s move threatens Nigeria’s fragile economic growth and poses a further security challenge for the Buhari administration, in addition to the renewed Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast and rising secessionist sentiments in the southeast.
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