— Time to build strong governmental institutions – Delta Police Commissioner Adeyinka Adeleke

Deputy Governor of Delta State, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro has said that security in the oil Niger Delta region, especially Delta State, was very critical to the nation’s economy.

Otuaro, who chaired the annual lecture of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, Asaba Chapter, in Asaba, the state capital, said the national budget until now, was predicated on proceeds from crude oil exploration.

“Following realization of the essence of security, the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration of the state established peace-building instruments and agencies both for the coastal areas and uplands to enhance uninterrupted oil exploration and safety of oil instruments.

“The national economy went into recession in 2015/16 mainly due to a sharp decline in the quantum of crude oil produced daily as a result of vandalism of oil installations as well as a sharp drop in crude oil prices per barrel in the international market,” he said.

Otuaro tasked members of the alumni association to take the exercise seriously to enable them contribute their quota to nation-building.

Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Adeyinka Adeleke, said, “A positive nation-building policies needed to be fashioned out, implemented to enhance long term security and tackle youth restiveness, militancy, cultism, all forms of criminality and communal crisis arising from the struggle of who gets what from the oil windfalls in Delta state and Nigeria as a whole.”

He delivered a lecture, “The Impact of Security on Nation Building – The Delta State Story” at the event.

“There is the need to build a strong identity of Deltans or Nigerians through equitable distribution of resources, political appointments, creating equal opportunities for all ethnic nationality, promoting unifying factors and consciously integrating the society through every existing structure and bring the government to the grassroots, thus giving every citizen a sense of belonging,” he said.

The police boss added, “There is also the need to build strong governmental institutions, which include the police and other security agencies with well trained, well remunerated and well-equipped personnel reflecting the interest of all stakeholders in the state and Nigeria to carry out the well-thought policies.”