Nigeria'smilitary is continuing to crack down on militants in theoil-rich Niger Delta, despite local and international appeals for it tostop. Military authorities say several militants have been killed and over adozen soldiers are missing and presumed dead. The fighting has displacedthousands of families and disrupted oil production and other businessactivities.
But the governor saysfor the state as a whole, it's a different story. Governor EmmanuelUduaghan says despite security issues, Delta State is peaceful andpresents a unique business opportunity for investors.
"Wehave a peaceful environment, we have a secured environment, we have the naturalresources, and we have the human resources to make any business thrive in DeltaState.We know that the critical issue has been that of the Niger Delta crisis. It hasa safe environment for investors. We have very heavy investment, like theEscravos Gas and Liquid plant, which is a $5.9 billion investment that is goingon in the heart of Delta State and in the creeks."
Dr. Uduaghan says,"Our overall objective is to make Delta State the investment destination, theinvestment hub for Nigeria, for West Africa and in fact for Africa." So he sayshis administration has a deliberate policy to reduce militancy and giveeveryone a sense of belonging.
Hesays, "Apart from the peace and security that is necessary for successfulinvestment, there are also critical infrastructure, and that is what we havebeen concentrating on, (including) power, trying to improve on our power supply; thearea of transportation, and that is why we have gone into constructing that internationalairport at Asaba that can handle both cargo and passengers and also trying to putup another runway in the Warri Airport, which is actually the business centerfor Delta State."