Otuaro deplores Nigeria’s Mono Product Economy
VANGUARD NEWS
Deputy Governor of Delta State, Deacon Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, says “laudable efforts by national and sub-national governments at diversifying Nigeria’s oil-based mono-product economy towards Agriculture, Science and Technology, Solid Minerals development and others, have been insignificant”.
“Consequentially, Nigeria still remains a mono-economy decades after self-rule. The implication is that whatever threatens this mono-economy goes to threaten our existence as a people”, Otuaro further said, in a statement made available by Bulou Kosin, his Senior Special Assistant on Press and Communication.
Otuaro spoke, Wednesday, at Presidential Hotels, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, venue of the 5th Anniversary/Award Dinner of Gbaramatu Voice Newspaper where he received on behalf of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, award for “human capital development and people-oriented projects”.
Otuaro himself bagged “Niger Delta Deputy Governor of the Year” for his sterling leadership style at the event which enjoyed support and participation of Rivers, Bayelsa state governments and Niger Delta regional stakeholders. He thanked Mr Jacob Abai, Publisher of Gbaramatu Voice and his management team/staff for the awards/anniversary event themed “Peace, Security and Sustainable Development”.
Underlining the imperative of peace for sustainable development, Otuaro said: “I want to enjoin all of us, including the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Deacon Peter Igbifa here present and all other institutions, well-meaning Deltans, Niger Deltans to join forces and cooperatively build the phenomenon of peace”.
“I think very strongly that the justice that we seek in our socio-economic and political space cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of chaos. They say that justice need amount of peace to be effective”, Otuaro opined. Tasking fellow awardees to keep the flag flying, Otuaro, at the event which held on the eve of Nigeria’s 60th-anniversary celebrations, said the “Niger Delta is a region that cannot be undermined”, just as he enthused that “despite challenges, we can with steadfastness build for ourselves a future that we deserve”.