Former governor of Delta
State, Emmanuel Uduaghan on Tuesday suddenly appeared at the caucus meeting of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Tuesday and many started asking
when he crossed over from his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the
APC.
The former Delta governor
on Wednesday gave reasons for his action.
Read below his statement on
his defection the ruling party:
”The toughest challenge for
any leader in the Niger Delta since 1997 has been the issue of Peace and
Security.
For over 12 years, I was
deeply involved in the management of the issues of the region, first as
Secretary to State Government, SSG, and then as Governor of Delta State for 8
years.
Strategically, we had
ENGAGEMENT as our major tool. This involved government officials, with me in
the forefront (sometimes personally going into the creeks without security at
nocturnal hours), community leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, our
youths, retired military officers, activists, etc. Of course, ensuring that
Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, was active
was also part of the engagement process.
ENCOURAGING INTERESTS,
ACTIVITIES
Since the inception of the
current All Progressives Congress, APC, the administration at the federal
level, there has been an encouraging interest and activities by President
Muhammadu Buhari to bring a permanent solution to the Niger Delta crisis. This
has pointed in a direction that is at once progressive and developmental.
Topmost in these activities
are the ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES. Rather than using the military to harass our
people, the Buhari administration has embarked on various engagement processes
that have led to agreements and brought hope to the people of the Niger Delta.
In the last years, Mr
President has personally engaged several regional leaders and youths. Senior
officials of his administration also engaged many Niger Delta leaders and
youths. Very significant is that Mr President mandated the Vice President Prof
Yemi Osibajo SAN, to visit virtually all the oil-producing states, engaging
various stakeholders. This is unprecedented in the history of the region. Such
engagement processes have brought some measure of peace in the Niger Delta.
Things can only get better.
Beyond the engagement
processes, however, the Buhari administration has embarked on some
infrastructural and human capital development activities in the region. In
Delta State, the opening of a Maritime University; the setting up of a steering
committee for the EPZ (GAS CITY), the plan for a deep sea port, the dredging of
the Escravos-Warri River; the opening of the railway line to Delta Steel
Company, the soon to be flagged off, by Mr. President, the Omadino-Escravos
Road that will pass through many riverine communities; the various road
construction works by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the
various TCN projects across the State are some of the positive activities in
the region.
There are also various
human capital development programmes especially the school feeding and the
“social security net” that is making 5,000 Naira available to the poor, the
continuation of the YouWin programme, the various SME programmes, and several
other projects across the region have brought hope to the people.
Indeed, once Mr President
was able to set his priorities pursuant to creating an environment for peace in
the region, it became incumbent on every well-meaning Niger Deltan and Nigerian
to assist the process of building an economically prosperous nation.
In this era of partisan
politics, it is necessary for the people of the Niger Delta, and Delta State,
in particular, to identify more with the Federal Government led by the APC. By
so doing, we can push some of the agreements between our leaders and the
Federal Government through, and also engage the government to do more. Politics
is about interests.
The Niger Delta is a major
area of interest for me because I staked my life going into the creeks
severally without security and sometimes coming back at night negotiating
peace. I will, therefore, give the strongest support to any President that
shows commitment in the affairs of the Niger Delta.
I call on, and enjoin,
other well-meaning leaders in the region, who have very useful contributions to
make, to come on board and join hands in helping this Federal Government to
pursue a robust development agenda that would uplift our people. Whatever
milestone that appears not to have been achieved yet is not for lack of
efforts. Joining hands with and supporting the process will lead to a faster
delivery of expectations.
It is in the pursuit of
this noble objective that I’m offering myself to help drive a process that
would give the lives of our people in the Niger Delta more meaning. President
Muhammadu Buhari needs people who will join hands with him to uplift our
people. From my political experience, you have to be well represented and
actively so at the “boardroom” when decisions are being taken. Delta State must
be well represented. Niger Delta must be well represented.
It is noteworthy to state
that some organisations have been deeply involved in efforts to develop the
Niger Delta and can always be relied on to collaborate with our President. It
is also noteworthy to add that some previous administrations made significant efforts
to develop the region.
The current administration
made such a significant impact in spite of the fact that apart from Edo State,
President Buhari did not score the required 25% in the entire Niger Delta in
the election that brought him into government in 2015.
This speaks volume of his
genuineness to uplift the Niger Delta. Such an administration should be
encouraged by the people of the Niger Delta. We can never be sure of the
genuineness of another person who becomes the President.
I have, therefore, after a
series of consultations and prayers, taken the decision to leave the PDP and
join the APC. In doing this, I want to thank the numerous leaders, supporters
and interest groups that have been urging me to remain in PDP. I am happy that
after explaining some of the deeper issues to you, some of you that are
politicians have agreed to join the APC in the near future. So I am going into
APC as “John the Baptist” to the numerous Deltans that are coming in, soon –
very soon.
God bless you all.”
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