The House of Representatives has put on hold a motion seeking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reversal of the decision to rename the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development.
The motion, sponsored by Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), was stepped down due to being “overtaken by events”.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said that President Tinubu assured him of his willingness to receive the South-South Development Commission Bill, aimed at addressing specific Niger Delta region issues.
This development, he said, rendered the motion unnecessary, as the bill’s passage would cater to the region’s needs.
Oforji, while moving the motion, said the Ministry of Niger Delta Development was established on September 10, 2008, by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to promote development, peace, unity, and security in the Niger Delta Region.
Oforji expressed concerns about the region’s suffering, agitation, and neglect, citing years of oil spillage, lack of arable land, and social amenities. He said late President Yar’Adua had good intentions in creating the ministry to address these issues.
He said, “It was in the short term of late President Yar’Adua ‘s leadership from Katsina State that dialogue was initiated with major stakeholders in the region and militants culminating in the Amnesty Program that has brought relative peace to the oil-rich Niger Delta Region.
“These were a prelude to the creation of the ministry, which was aimed at infrastructural development, environmental protection and empowerment of the youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta Region.
“Are we there yet? The answer is no, but the people of the Niger Delta believe that the lofty dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the region will be actualized someday, hence their embrace of the creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development”.
He expressed concerns “On the 24th of October 2024, the oil-rich region witnessed palpable tension following the announcement of the scrapping of the ministry of Niger Delta Development by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“This is not a good omen for a region that has contributed immensely to the economic development of our country and has enjoyed some relative peace”.
However, House Leader Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) reassured that renaming the ministry would not deny the Niger Delta region its due development but rather broaden its scope to include other regions.
