Your Excellency, the Honourable Minister of State I For Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Tijjani Yahaya Kaura,
Your Excellency, the Honourable Minister of State II for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse,
Your Excellency, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps, HE Masaranga R. Umpa, Ambassador of the Philippines to Nigeria,
Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ambassador Sam J. Edem,
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, OON,
Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Timi Alaibe,
Representatives of the Governments of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States,
Your Excellencies,
Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Gentlemen of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me welcome you to this interactive forum on the situation of Niger Delta. As some of your Excellencies may recall, I had the honour of meeting with a good number of you when I was the Secretary-General of peoples' Democratic Party (PDP),
Since assuming office as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I have also had the opportunity to interact informally with a number of your Excellencies at different fora.

I am aware of formal requests by not a few of you for audiences with me. Your Excellencies, as these requests are being processed, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your eagerness and interest in strengthening the bilateral relations between Nigeria and your respective countries. Your prompt response to our invitation today, despite the short notice, is a clear demonstration of our mutual desire for enhanced partnership and cooperation. I am totally committed to this process as I look forward to the forging of deep personal and official relationships with you as a means of facilitating your diplomatic tasks and responsibilities in Nigeria.

You will recall that my predecessor in office, Professor U. Joy OGWU, had initiated this interactive Session when she met with you at the end of March this year on the situation in the Niger Delta. This was sequel to the launching of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan by the immediate past Administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. As you may be aware, the fifteen-year plan is a product of extensive consultations between governments at the three levels, the local communities, civil society, the oil and gas establishments and other stakeholders.

It is noteworthy that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has fully endorsed the plan, based on this firm conviction that, if fully implemented, it can achieve the primary objective of transforming the Niger Delta and restoring peace and stability to the region. The Niger Delta challenge occupies a position of prominence on Mr. President’s Seven-point Agenda.

Only last week, Thursday, 30th August 2007, the President met with the leadership of the NDDC and the nine Governors of the oil producing states in the region. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss measures aimed at fast-tracking implementation of the infrastructural components of the Master Plan.

At the end of the deliberations, it was agreed that the role of the three tiers of Government in the implementation of the Plan, be de-lineated and harmonized, to avoid duplication and to ensure that the main elements of the infrastructural development are captured in next year’s budget. This will entail allocating specific responsibilities to all stake-holders, including the oil companies, so as to derive maximum value for allocated funds.

Under the new arrangement, the role of the NDDC would be limited to the  construction of huge projects such as roads, while allowing the State and Local Governments to concentrate on the primary welfare projects such as hospitals, clinics, schools, electricity, etc. President Yar’Adua also directed that all budgeted funds for the Niger Delta be released without further delay. These constitute a clear demonstration of the possible omission of words commitment of the new Administration to the implementation of the Master Plan, in line with the Seven-Point Agenda of the Government.

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