The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Umana Okon Umana, has reassured the people of the region of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to fostering sustainable peace, economic development and more opportunities in the region.

Mr. Umana, who stated this during a one-day Town Hall Meeting in Uyo recently, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government has created platforms that would enhance collaborative efforts of relevant agencies with corporate stakeholders and people of the region towards building peace and sustainable development.

The event, which was tagged “Promoting Sustainable Peace and Economic Development in the Niger Delta Region,” was in collaboration with the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND).

Represented by a Director in the Ministry, Mr. Umana noted that in spite of the numerous challenges faced in the course of executing projects and programmes, MNDA had recorded considerable successes, following immense investment in infrastructural development, environmental remediation, human capital development, peace building and conflict resolution.

Speaking further, Mr. Umana said “the various infrastructural investments in the region, such as the construction of the East-West Road and human capital development initiatives such as the skills acquisition training and empowerment programmes are testaments to President Buhari’s desire to engender massive industrial development in the region.”

He disclosed that in an effort by the federal government to match word with action, President Buhari had mandated the MNDA to develop a security framework for participatory incident reporting and strengthening of rural-urban security in the Niger Delta Region.

Given this background, Mr. Umana said the MNDA in collaboration with PIND carefully selected and invited critical stakeholders to be part of the Town Hall meeting, which in turn would assist in carrying out this all important national assignment.

He maintained that the efforts being made by the federal government would not yield optimum results without the participation of the states and local governments, traditional institutions and other critical stakeholders as they have a better understanding of their localities and, therefore, in a better position to provide the most accurate data possible to guide this important assignment.