Emmanuel Uduaghan, former
governor of Delta state, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Uduaghan confirmed his defection
on Tuesday at a meeting of the APC national caucus held at the presidential
villa in Abuja.
The meeting was attended by
leaders of the party including national officers, state governors, former state
governors, ministers and national assembly members.
Uduaghan, a founding member of
the PDP, described himself as “John the Baptist to the numerous Deltans that
are coming” into the APC.
The former governor said he is
defecting to attract development and bring a permanent solution to the Niger
Delta crisis.
THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW
“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, 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 on 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 speak volumes 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 genuiness of another person who
becomes the President.
I have, therefore, after 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.”
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com