Former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has said that the failure of the Federal Government to involve concerned state governments in the amnesty programme was largely responsible for its collapse.
Uduaghan, who spoke as Special Guest of Honour at the 12th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday, therefore asked the government of Muhammadu Buhari to involve the governors of the Niger Delta region in the engagement process for lasting end to insurgency in the region.
“The amnesty did not achieve what it was set out to achieve because the governors were not involved. The states should be involved.
“The biggest threat in the Niger Delta is that our land is seriously polluted, especially water,” the former governor said, even as he called for special attention to be given to development of the region.
He said that pollution from oil exploration has impacted heavily on the environment even as he said that he was very excited with the focus of the theme of the conference on agriculture.
He charged the media to help achieve a mindset change that will promote the gains in investing in the agricultural sector.
Uduaghan recalled that as a governor, he introduced what he called “Delta Beyond Oil” in his state, stressing that it was time Nigeria looked beyond oil.
He said that it is the task before the media to get the young and old to see the wealth in the agricultural sector
“I need to highlight the major problem we have today in the country. I believe the media can help us set an agenda to deal with it.
“Our people should accept that farming, agriculture is a means of economic success.
“We need a major mind change.” [myad]
