NIDDEMOG Challenges Tinubu, Obi, Atiku, Others to Unveil Niger Delta Development Plans
By Tams Jonah, ABUJA – The Niger Delta Development Monitoring Group (NIDDEMOG) has challenged President Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and other presidential candidates to present clear, actionable plans for addressing the Niger Delta’s infrastructure and environmental challenges ahead of the elections.
The group said the candidates must go beyond political exchanges and personal attacks to explain how they intend to complete the abandoned East-West Road, revive refineries and seaports, tackle environmental degradation and protect coastal communities threatened by erosion and rising sea levels.
NIDDEMOG’s Team Lead, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, OON, made the call in a statement issued on Sunday, October 25, 2026, warning that the region’s development concerns must not be sidelined by political controversies.
He also urged governors in the South-South to leverage their political influence to secure concrete commitments from presidential candidates rather than endorsing candidates out of party loyalty without obtaining assurances on critical development projects.
James-Eriworio said the controversies surrounding the proposed coastal road project exposed the failure of political leaders to adequately address the specific needs of the Niger Delta, despite the region’s strategic contribution to Nigeria’s oil revenue.
He argued that the region’s development priorities extended beyond oil pipeline surveillance contracts and the Presidential Amnesty Programme, stressing that coastal erosion, abandoned roads, environmental pollution and the collapse of critical economic infrastructure required urgent attention.
“How can a former governor of Cross River, Donald Duke, who is a presidential candidate of a party, be speaking without a clear knowledge of issues concerning the region? Most of the issues facing the region are not being discussed by the presidential candidates, not even President Tinubu,” he said.
The NIDDEMOG leader lamented that several coastal communities were losing land and lives to the sea because of inadequate shore protection, while the prolonged abandonment of the East-West Road had continued to expose residents and road users to hardship.
He called on the presidential candidates to make specific commitments on reducing gas flaring, completing the East-West Road, developing a comprehensive shore protection programme and implementing a Niger Delta-wide environmental restoration and remediation plan.
He also advocated the expansion of environmental clean-up efforts in oil-producing communities, including the reorganisation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) into an agency with a broader environmental clean-up mandate.
According to him, the candidates should address these issues directly instead of engaging in what he described as disappointing verbal exchanges over who was responsible for poverty and violence in the country.
James-Eriworio, who said he had written to the presidential candidates following the commencement of political campaigns, maintained that the proposed coastal road addressed a longstanding infrastructure need in the region and should not be dismissed on political grounds.
He argued that the Niger Delta required increased federal investment in roads, bridges, refineries and seaports to improve connectivity, expand economic opportunities and strengthen access to public services across its riverine and coastal communities.
Citing proposed and ongoing road connections around Agge and Brass in Bayelsa State, as well as the Bonny and Opobo axis of Rivers State, he said the region’s difficult terrain should not be used to undermine the feasibility of major infrastructure projects.
He, however, stressed that the pursuit of new projects must not come at the expense of existing roads in deplorable condition, particularly the East-West Road, which he described as critical to the region’s economic and social development.
“We are not against any presidential candidates. All we are saying is that the region demands a commitment from each candidate for the Niger Delta region. I am one of those who advocated for it even before the Federal Government proposed the project.
“What we are saying is that the East-West Road and other failing roads in the region must also receive the attention they deserve,” he said.
The group further called for an upward review of the 13 per cent derivation allocation to 20 per cent, alongside a clear federal directive compelling international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to relocate their headquarters and functional offices to the region.
James-Eriworio said such measures would help ensure that the region derived greater economic benefits from the oil and gas resources extracted from its communities.
He also challenged South-South governors to demand specific, measurable commitments from presidential candidates on the East-West Road, environmental remediation, shore protection and other development priorities before declaring their political support.
The NIDDEMOG leader warned that endorsements driven by party loyalty without corresponding development commitments would amount to a political jamboree, insisting that the region deserved concrete guarantees on projects and policies capable of improving the lives of its people.
He maintained that the presidential candidates must demonstrate a clear understanding of the Niger Delta’s challenges and outline practical solutions rather than treating the region’s support as guaranteed.
