From: Etatsemi Onoriode
A former Delta State Oil Producing area Development Commission, commissioner, Chief Dr Henry Ofa (JP) has appealed to aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta region to embrace the option of dialogue and stop further bombing of oil facilities.
Chief Ofa, now a member of the Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic, Delta State board, who stated this at Oghara, said even though the agitators may be right in their demands, they should realized that bombing of oil facilities is not the right option.
He rather advised that they can only achieve their aims through round table dialogue with government since their actions have negative affect on the economy of the nation and the revenue base of the Delta state government.
He appealed further to the federal government to exhaust all avenues of peaceful negotiations with the agitators so that the fragile peaceful atmosphere could be sustained for a permanent one and that the government should be sincere and never pretend over it.
Ofa said, “further militarization of the area could only result in more deaths and further degradation of the area and not an end to the solution but must come on a round table dialogue with those concerned for peace to remain in the Niger Delta region since confrontation has never been the best option to any crisis”.
Chief Ofa speaking further on the level of development of Delta state since 25 years of its creation, remarked that the state has achieved alot thus far in the area of health, with the establishment of the gigantic health facilities across the state, improved educational facilities with the establishment of several higher institutions and many others.
He gave past mark to all successive administrations so far in all the stages of development, noting that governor Ifeanyi Okowa has improved upon what “we have on ground in the areas of Transportation, good motorable roads, bridges every where, which were not there before the creation of the state.
He called on DESOPADEC to establish a central library at Asaba for all Deltans since more people from the oil bearing communities resides in the State Capital, Asaba which would be the major beneficiaries of such library facilities when put in place.
