The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has expressed displeasure over the alleged exclusion of the South-South Geopolitical Zone from the recent N3.9trillion road infrastructure projects approved by the Federal Government.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its June 29 meeting approved the projects to be executed across the country.
A total of 26 projects, covering 15 states, were approved for the N3.9trn expenditure.
However, PANDEF complained bitterly on Friday that the South-South was “grossly shortchanged with very insignificant allocation of projects from this humongous sum.”
PANDEF’s National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, who addressed a news conference in Abuja over the development, noted that apart from the Benue-Cross River border road, “the only one nearest to the South-South” among 26 roads, there was “absolutely no allocation for any other road that runs through major parts of the South-South.”
Worse still, he said only N86billion was allocated to the project, adding, “For a part of the country that has continually suffered inexplicable infrastructural decay, this state of affairs has resulted in the inability of the citizens from the region to easily connect each other by road.
“This is very disturbing and totally unacceptable to the people of the Nigerian Delta.”
PANDEF, while commending President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its commitment to the provision of infrastructure in the country, urged him to ensure a “fair and balanced” spread of the projects in order to give every citizen a sense of belonging.
Igali cited the East-West Road, which he described as “a metaphor for a failed project”, as one example of the deplorable state of infrastructure in the region.
He argued that while it would appear that the government was committed to completing the project, the reality was that it remained at a “snail pace, with no reasonable work going on, despite assurances by the minister of works on speedy completion.”
PANDEF added, “This consistent pattern is a sad reminder that all major ports in the area, to wit -Calabar, Onne, Port Harcourt, Warri -are virtually abandoned with no plan in place for their rehabilitation, modernisation and upgrade.”
Igali disclosed that various layers of citizens in the Niger Delta, including traditional leaders had inundated PANDEF with calls since the Tinubu administration announced the new road projects on June 29, seeking explanations over the exclusion of the area.
“The above situation is a typical demonstration of the infamous inference to ‘starving the goose that lays the golden eggs’. Undoubtedly, such continued relegation of our people creates feelings of systemic alienation and disenchantment”, the group further stated.
It called on Tinubu to look into the matter with a view to “reversing the situation, bearing in mind that the Niger Delta region is the revenue base of the country.”
PANDEF reassured the President and his administration that the people of the region would continue to create the enabling environment for “enhanced contribution to national economic development and growth, especially through increased oil and gas production.”