(http://fmi.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Orubebe-presenting-score-card-at-MP-2013-Day-2-300x192.jpg) The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday P. Orubebe has said that his Ministry has started recording tremendous progress at reversing the fortunes of the hitherto neglected Niger Delta region by training about seven hundred and six repentant militants from the region in various skills which they hitherto lacked.
The Minister disclosed this while giving the scorecard of his Ministry at the on-going Ministerial Platform organized by Federal Ministry of Information to publicize the sectoral mid-term report of the Jonathan Goodluck's Administration.
The Minister expressed regrets that the region which provides over 80% of the country's total revenue and 95% of its total export earnings was allowed to suffer from environmental degradation and pollution caused by oil spills, gas leaks and flares over the years.
He said further that since the inception of the Niger Delta Development Ministry, it has recorded great infrastructural, environmental and socio-economic development to reverse the fortunes of the region.
Orubebe said that his Ministry has now made increased access to physical and social infrastructure possible for the people of the Niger Delta region; whilst ensuring that there is now a preservation and conservation of the environment through remediation, rehabilitation and restoration of degraded and polluted ecosystem among others consonance with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration for the region.
Whilst reporting on how his Ministry was able to reverse the idleness and mass unemployment of youths in the region, the Minister said, that his Ministry embarked on building nine skills acquisition centers, one in each State of the region. "The skills acquisition centers, he said were designed to train youths to acquire skills to enable them work in various sectors of the economy particularly in the oil and gas, commerce, tourism, agriculture, ICT, construction and maritime sectors; where they were hitherto lacking in the skills. "Four of the centers will be completed to commence operation this year".
To sustain peace and security in the region, Elder Orubebe has further stated that the Ministry has significantly intervened through routinely organized security and consultative meetings, road constructions are also going on across the 9 States of the Niger Delta.
According to the Minster, the Ministry has also embarked on various programmes of environmental remediation, reclamation and rehabilitation in some of the affected communities to addressing the issue of oil exploration and exploitation by the oil companies in the Niger Delta.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Minister of Information, Mr.Labaran Maku said that since the inception of this administration, the Ministry has witnessed progress that has not been recorded since 1960 and therefore expressed optimism that both Niger Delta Development Commission and the Ministry of Niger Delta are under the Federal Government's special intervention, adding that efforts are been made to take development to its heights in the region.
Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria