This was made known by Ambassador David Young who is the deputy head of mission of the United States Embassy in Nigeria during a courtesy visit to Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa at the state house.
Daily Post reports that the envoy also sent a message to militants in the Niger Delta region to embrace dialogue as a way of achieving lasting solution to the problem in the region.
Young also noted that successive government made effort to better the lives of people in the region and called on all stakeholders to work towards achieving this.
He said the “US government was ready to partner with Nigeria and Bayelsa state in the area of funding development and economic prosperity, through a variety of programmes, including agriculture, health, education and maritime security, without losing focus on transparency and fiscal responsibility.”
He said: “The US government feels very strongly that all stakeholders should be engaged in dialogue, as part of the process to arrive at equitable and fair solution for all involved.
“We believe that a bit of challenge for Nigeria, is to transform the region of oil wells (the Niger Delta) into improvement in the life of the average Deltan. And, that is something we feel very strongly about.
“We encourage Nigerians to work for common goals as against violence and criminal activities. We encourage Nigeria to establish conditions and mechanisms for lasting change over time and provide economic opportunities and services for Deltans… US provides assistance to the region, through maritime security training, aviation security, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, good governance planning, agric system and a number of other activities. So we want to be your partner.”
Governor Dickson lamented the degradation in the region and urged troops deployed to the region to exercise caution.
He said only meaningful dialogue can end the problem of militancy and also development.
He however applauded the federal government for kick-starting the Ogoniland Clean-Up Programme and called for its extension to other parts of the region, stressing that Bayelsa environment remains the most polluted in the Niger Delta.
He said only meaningful dialogue can end the problem of militancy and also development.
He however applauded the federal government for kick-starting the Ogoniland Clean-Up Programme and called for its extension to other parts of the region, stressing that Bayelsa environment remains the most polluted in the Niger Delta.
He said: “We believe that the issues of the Niger Delta are not such that can be resolved by means of confrontation or show of military strength. We believe that these are essentially issues of development; they are issues about the environment.
“So, we as a government, community leaders, corporate executives particularly the oil majors that are operating here and the Federal Government, its agencies and the friends of our country should work together to resolve the challenges of the Niger Delta.
“These are issues that working together sincerely and following a clear roadmap, we think can be resolved in such a way that communities will be prosperous; Government, agencies and businesses within our region will benefit from the overall climate of stability and security that will be generated when there is a consensus building effort. That is where we stand and I believe that has been the position of the US Mission.”
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