Acting President Yemi Osinbajo told a meeting of Niger Delta leaders in Rivers State on Monday that the Buhari administration is prepared to begin a partnership with all the stakeholders in the region as he also rolled out the government plans to develop the long neglected region .

According to Osinbajo, government needed to forge partnership with the stakeholders to restore healthy living conditions, enable other productive activities to take-off or resume and improve the quality of lives in general.

Osinbajo who elaborated on government’s plans to correct the environmental devastation in Ogoniland said that the entire region needs the Ogoni treatment and urged the people to cooperate with the Federal Government and not worsen the environmental damage that has already occurred.

“It is now clear that Niger Delta needs a new vision. But not just a new vision but a fresh commitment and a renewed spirit by all stakeholders including the states, federal agencies and oil- bearing communities,” the acting president said.

“The Federal government will begin a partnership with the oil producing states, local governments, oil companies, private sector, and civil society organisations for the rapid development of these communities. An oil communities intervention meeting is to work out what can be done in the short to medium term and the long term possibilities. There is no way that this new vision will be aborted because it does not depend for execution on the Federal government alone. Every stakeholder has a part to play. Oil exploitation by itself cannot suffice to assure our people of decent jobs and a decent income.

“We must make our oil producing communities hubs for petro-chemical industries, small and large. We must make these communities hubs for refining and related activities.

‘The Ministry of Petroleum in collaboration with the oil companies is working on several initiatives for host communities including working with illegal refiners in oil bearing communities to participate in modular refineries to be established. There is no doubt that Thermal power stations should be stationed here, it makes sense, the gas deposits are here.

”The biggest benefit we can obtain is to attract more investment to the region. But investments have a choice. They will go where they find an enabling environment especially security. It is up to us as government and people to assure the necessary enabling circumstances for investment. I must commend the oil producing communities for maintaining peace in their various communities. You have set the stage for progress.

”I had stated at the start of my tours that there was no reason why the infrastructure in the Niger Delta should not look and feel like Dubai. This is a point that I continue to stress. However, we must admit to ourselves that damage to pipelines and export facilities are also damage to infrastructure.

‘Such damage also affects gas supply and if we are unable to generate electricity, all our demands for electrification may come to nought since there will be nothing to distribute.

‘One thing that this government is determined to do is to change Nigeria from being a country that merely exports crude oil to ensuring that other parts of the economy contribute their own share while at the same time ensuring that we add value to our oil and gas resources. This is why we will be ensuring that our refineries are up and running while also encouraging the establishment of co-located refineries. Our petrochemical industries and fertiliser plants will similarly be boosted.

“The intention of course is to create jobs and opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises along the value chain. However, people can only work and businesses thrive in an environment of peace. This is why the Federal Government on its part is committed to continued implementation of the Amnesty Programme and to ensuring that its social investment interventions impact on lives in the Niger Delta. It was indeed a matter of some pleasure to find out that young graduates in Rivers State took advantage of the N-Power programme to the extent that this State has the single largest number of participants in the scheme.

”Your Excellencies and the good people of Rivers State, the future is here. There is no time to waste. We must all re-commit to working together to making the Niger Delta a vibrant and dynamic economic zone. On its part, the Federal Government will use its forthcoming Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to restore growth, diversify the economy and promote social inclusion. We intend to do so through dedicated spending on capital and by paying particular attention to ensuring supply of power and petroleum products in addition to using small businesses to drive our push for industrialisation.

”As you have challenged the Federal government to action I challenge the State and communities too, to play their part faithfully. If we do we will change the trajectory of the history of neglect and attain the glorious manifest destiny of the people of this State.”