A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ayiri Emami, has said that fighting criminality in the Niger Delta without putting in place infrastructure in the region will not achieve any results.
The APC Chieftain who said these while speaking to State House Correspondents after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also lamented the poor state of infrastructure in Delta State, especially the road from Warri to Escravos and the need to dredge the Koko and Warri ports.
Emami also said that oil theft has drastically reduced to about 80 per cent in the Niger Delta region. He said that this is a result of the efforts of the communities in the state.
Speaking on his purpose of visit to the President, Emami said that the President had promised to tackle some of the issues peculiar to the region once he gets into office during his election campaign.
According to Emami, one of those issues has to do with the road from Warri to Escravos. Emami disclosed that President Tinubu made the promise that once he is elected, he is going to ensure that the road is constructed.
The other issue according to Emami has to do with politics, personal issues and the immediate environment.
“You know the Warri port has been an issue to date and I made a complaint to him about the pipe that is giving us problems. The President said he is going to get across to the Group’s Chief Executive Officer so that they will sit and look at how they can relocate the pipe so that proper dredging can be carried out for vessels to flow into Warri. So these are the issues why I came to see him.”
Asked whether he discussed Koko port and other things with President Tinubu, Emami said that the issues of Koko and Warri ports were well discussed with the President.
“Definitely once you talk about Warri port, you will talk about Koko port, Sapele port. The pipe is where the problem is. If you don’t relocate those pipes, it will remain the problem. So, he needs to see what they can do and he has promised that he is going to call the Minister for Petroleum and see what they can do immediately with the GMD.”
Further asked on how the oil-producing communities are collaborating with the federal government to nip oil theft in the bud, Emami said that the efforts of relevant stakeholders in the area have contributed to the drastic reduction of oil theft.
He said, “I can speak around Delta state that the issue of oil theft has drastically gone down. It has been reduced to about 80 to 90% because the company handling the job at the moment and some of us are involved and the job is being handled properly.
“To some extent, we’re doing good in Delta and some of these communities. The actors are being carried along. But we still want them to do more. Not just giving contracts. These people need good roads, good water, electricity, and good hospitals.
Emami further said that fighting criminality without putting proper infrastructure in the region will not work.
He said he spoke with Mr President and called for more infrastructural development of the communities and further support from the government to develop the region.
Emmanuel Ukoh
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