From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dikio (rtd), has said the Niger Delta is currently the most peaceful and stable region in the country to do business.
He stated this at the weekend in Warri, Delta State, after receiving an award for repositioning PAP at the Niger Delta Media Awards organised by GbaramatuVoice newspaper.
Dikio urged media practitioners to report the positive sides of the region and avoid feasting on issues capable of de-marketing the people and the region to the world.
“Going by statistics, the Niger Delta region is currently the most secure and stable place to live and do business. We call on all stakeholders to work on their mindset to see and sell a Niger Delta as the best place to live and do business in Nigeria. No one can tell your story like you do. Tell the story of the wealth of the Niger Delta beyond the oil. There’s immense human and natural resources in the region; the region is not all about the oil.”
Dikio said the Niger Delta had the most talented and most resourceful persons, citing the entertainment and creativity industry as an example of a sector domiciled in the region.
He advised journalists to balance their reports by being objective lamenting that the Niger Delta had suffered greatly from negative reports and bad publicity.
Chief Executive Officer/Publisher of the GbaramatuVoice Newspaper, Jacob Abai, acknowledged the role journalists played over the years in the success stories of the Niger Delta.
Dikio was honoured with a merit award for the excellent way he had coordinated the amnesty programme since he came on board leading to sustainable peace in the region.
Other honoured include Prince Sam Amuka Pemu, publisher of Vanguard newspaper; Emmanuel Amaize, editor, Vanguard Newspaper; Jimitota Onoyume, a reporter with Vanguard, Grace Ekang of Channels TV, Usman Adamu Attaboh, among others.
