Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) believes the people of the Niger Delta deserve significant developmental gains.
He also stated that ensuring inclusive prosperity is a key goal of his principal’s administration, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
Osinbajo stated that the Federal Government is collaborating with state governments and stepping up efforts to ensure the well-being of communities in the Niger Delta region and across the country.
The Vice President made the remarks on Saturday in Bayelsa State at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Angiama-Oporoma Bridge on the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukube road.
The VP also paid a courtesy call on the Traditional Rulers Council during his visit to the state, where he was met at the airport by the State Governor, Douye Diri, the Vice President also paid a courtesy call on the State’s Traditional Rulers Council prior to the flag-off and drive-through on the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road.
“The rapid urbanization of the last two decades, the consequent pressure on cities, and the difficulties of allocating scarce resources faced by governments at all levels and across the country,” Osinbajo said.
This was stated by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement issued on Sunday.
The vice president emphasized the importance of such infrastructure projects to a country’s development, saying, “We must always find the commitment, innovation, and persistence to put in place the quality and scale of infrastructure needed, to give our people the productive and competitive edge to better their lives, and we must do it as soon as possible.”
According to the Vice President, Niger Delta communities such as Oporoma, Angiama – where the Bridge is currently being built – and others throughout the region are home to vast amounts of mineral wealth and natural resources, and they deserve significant developmental gains to show for it.
The Angiama-Oporoma Bridge construction, according to the VP, is a symbol of development in the region and will have a far-reaching impact on the lives of the people in the communities.
“By making it easier to get to places like Yenogoa and beyond with this bridge, we will be laying the groundwork for development that will deepen commerce and create individual and collective opportunities for the people of these communities,” he said.
“As a matter of urgency, we are well on our way to correcting historical lapses in this regard, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the federal, state, and local governments, each of which is putting aside personal interests and doing the best they can for the communities that have unjustly suffered for so long,” he emphasized.
The Vice President also assured the public of the “Federal Government’s full support and collaboration in every way possible.”
“You have not been forgotten,” he said, adding that “this milestone is only the beginning of greater things to come.”
He stated that the region has seen significant development strides and projects under the Buhari administration’s New Vision initiative, such as the ongoing Ogoni cleanup in Rivers State, the launch of the Nigeria Maritime University, and the establishment of refineries across states in the region; infrastructure projects include the 34-kilometer Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, as well as the Warri-Itakpe railway line, among others.
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