President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has advised Niger Delta leaders to stop dwelling on misfortunes of the past and cooperate with his administration to meet their needs. Tinubu made the plea on Wednesday when he met leaders of the Ogbia Kingdom in Bayelsa State at the State House, Abuja. On the delegation were Obanobhan Ogbia 111, His Royal Majesty Dumaro Charles Owaba; Obanobhan Emeyal, His Royal Majesty Wapabiama Amakiri and Olalebhu Abureni, His Royal Majesty, Collins Daniel.

 

Tinubu who acknowledged years of neglect of the region which he described as the goose that lays the golden eggs, assured them of his administration’s determination to meet their developmental needs. He said: “We cannot excuse the neglect of the past, but living in the past will do us no good, except take it and run with it now, carefully.” President Tinubu cited the Federal Government intervention agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission as one meant to meet their infrastructure needs just as he commended the Managing Director of the agency, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, for doing a good job to deepen development efforts in the region. “Your son, Dr Ogbuku, the MD of the NDDC, is a transformative, committed, highly focused MD. His commitment to duty and love for the nation are noticed by all, including myself.” He assured the delegation that infrastructure projects across the region, including roads, street lighting and other community-level interventions, would be sustained. “You mentioned the street lights, the roads, the infrastructure development. We will continue with that, and we won’t let you down.” The President said his administration is already witnessing tangible impacts of ongoing Niger Delta programmes, particularly in expanding economic activities through solar lighting and other initiatives that have extended business hours and improved livelihoods in previously underserved communities. “When we watch Niger Delta programmes, I see market women and traders enjoying solar light at night in places where before, communities went to sleep by 6:30 or 7pm. That has changed.” Tinubu assured the Ogbia leaders that their specific requests such as erosion control, bridge construction and other infrastructure critical to economic growth would be addressed. “We will look into the erosion and tame it. On the bridge, that is infrastructure that promotes economy and progress. We’ll see to that and other areas of collaboration.”