A definite timeline has been given by the federal government for the completion and commissioning of the Ibeno Skills Acquisition Centre, Akwa Ibom State, which was earlier abandoned by the previous administration.
The Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Umana Okon Umana, gave the hint recently, during an interview on a Radio Nigeria audience participatory programme “Politics Nationwide”. He disclosed that “the skills acquisition centre in Akwa Ibom State, which should be commissioned in the next two months, focuses on oil and gas training”.
He added that such centres that are focused on specialized areas of training, located in various states covered by the ministry, is something youths in the region need so that they can acquire the necessary skills for the oil and gas industry.
He promised that all the skills acquisition centres will be handed over to the various states once they are completed, “what we are doing is that, on completion of these centres, we will hand them over to the relevant institutions in the various states so that we can be sure that they will be effectively used”.
Mr. Umana maintained that President Buhari’s administration has done very well in the Niger Delta region, pledging to publish a compendium of projects completed by the Buhari’s administration from 2015 to date through the Ministry of Niger Delta and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in order to enhance transparency and accountability in the region as the report would be made available for public scrutiny by all the stakeholders in the region.
The Minister stated that the ministry as created in 2008 as part of the package that the federal government put in place to address issues of development in the Niger Delta Region.
” The creation of Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was one of the items in the package. You would also add the 13 percent derivation which was approved for the oil producing states in the Niger Delta Region. You had the Amnesty Programme there and also had, very significant, the establishment of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). All of these were put in place to address the developmental issues in the region”.
He pointed out that the East-West road has been a defining project of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and by extension the prime project of the Niger Delta Region, adding that the 338 kilometer dual carriage way which starts from Oron in Akwa Ibom State and runs through virtually all the States in the region to Warri in Delta State is already 80% completed.
He reassured Nigerians that the road will be completed as President Buhari had last year directed the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to hand over the project to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, noting that a significant segment of the road that the Ministry of Works is to address is the Eleme – Onne section, a 15 kilometre stretch which is going to be a Six Dual Carriage Way that covers the Industrial Hub including the Eleme Refinery, the Indorama Petrochemical Plant, the Notore Complex and Free Zone, the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone as well as the Onne Port.
The Minister therefore urged people of the region, especially communities affected by that stretch of the road, to look forward to happy days as the Ministry of Works has secured funding for the project through the Tax Credit Scheme, stressing that the efforts of the federal government in putting structures to address developmental issues in the region have been impactful.
