LAGOS JULY 1ST (URHOBOTODAY) The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, has lauded Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State’s “Delta Beyond Oil”, initiative. He said the campaign would lead Nigeria into diversification of its economy.
The monarch said the vision of Delta State government christened, “Delta Beyond Oil,” is a well thought out initiative that will right the wrong stance of successive administrations in the country which led to the abandonment of the sources of revenues before the advent of the black gold.
In his palace when the members of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) paid him a courtesy visit, the Olu of Warri said, “the DBO vision remains one of the best things that has happened to the state as we all knew what happened during the colonial era where regions survived independently through revenues generated within.
“The regions were able to run without oil money. But since the advent of oil things seem to fall apart. States became weaker and nobody is doing anything to generate revenues from other sources. This has led to mass unemployment as the money coming from federal allocation is not able to meet the needs of the people. If we diversify into areas like agriculture and other natural resources, job will be available for our youths.”
While thanking the state government for its efforts at building critical infrastructure for the vision to vigorously take off, the monarch pledged to support the DBO vision, emphasizing that as the custodian of culture and tradition, the palace would assist in disseminating information on the need for the people to pay their taxes.
Also, the Executive Chairman, Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, expressed the gratitude of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to the monarch for his support for government, saying that they were at the palace to intimate him of the DBO Vision and how the state government wants to actualize the initiative.
Joel-Onowakpo defining the DBO vision, simply said that this administration was making efforts to ensure that Delta State depends less on oil revenues. “This is necessitated as a result of the challenges that characterized oil and the need for more revenue to pilot development. One source of income is a risk because if anything bad happens, the state will be thrown into problem.
“To archive this, the state is building infrastructure to pursue the vision. The airport and roads will open up the state to the world. Agriculture will lead to employment generation and will also have enough revenue for the state which will lead to more money for development.
Source: Daily Independent