By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria, through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has appealed for support from Belgium for the development of the oil-rich region.
The Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr Efiong Akwa, said the country would need assistance in the areas of health, environment, youth empowerment and development of critical infrastructure in the Niger Delta.
Speaking when the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Daniel Bertrand, paid a courtesy visit to the commission’s new headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr Akwa said the geo-political zone of the nation has suffered from the lack of certain structure.
However, he commended the Belgian government on its strategic role in the development of the region, stating: “We want collaboration in the areas of health, environment, training, agriculture and developing a new masterplan.”
“Health is a major challenge in the Niger Delta region and Belgium has what it takes to assist us, considering the way it was able to successfully tackle the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
Mr Akwa observed that Belgium, as the headquarters of the European Union, was in a position to coordinate other multi-national companies doing business in the Niger Delta region to partner with the NDDC to speed up the development of the region.
He said that physical infrastructural development, as well as boosting agriculture, aquaculture and training of the youths in various vocations, were prime issues that call for collaborative efforts between both nations.
The NDDC boss noted that part of the health challenges emanated from environmental degradation due to oil spill and gas flaring; stressing the need for assistance and co-operation of multinational companies operating in the Niger Delta region to stop gas flaring and check environmental degradation through collaborative efforts.
He lamented: “Our environment has been put in jeopardy because of the oil and gas exploration and exploitation of multinational companies in the region.”
Mr Akwa then called for collaboration with the Belgian Government in its efforts to produce a revised Regional Development Master Plan for the Niger Delta region.
He added that the masterplan, which had a life-span of 15 years, expired in 2020 and appealed to the Belgian Government for a partnership to produce another masterplan that would facilitate the rapid development of Nigeria’s oil-rich region.
He said that the Niger Delta region had great potentials in agriculture, noting: “Our people are predominantly fishermen and farmers and agriculture is the strength of the region.
In his remarks, the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bertrand, said his country was interested in deepening the bilateral ties with development agencies in Nigeria, stating: “I am looking forward to working together with the NDDC to deepen our excellent relationship.”
Mr Bertrand stated that he was in the commission on a fact-finding mission to have firsthand knowledge of the mandate of the NDDC and seek ways of partnering with her.
“I wanted to see you to understand what you are doing, your priorities and see what we can do together,” he said.
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