A prominent community Advocate and former President, Oyigbo Youth Council, OYC, Hon Stanleyson Akaya, has challenged the political representatives of Oyigbo Local Government Area to stop treating the development of the area as a campaign slogan and should champion a high-level Oyigbo Development Summit.
Speaking with Our Correspondent recently in Port-Harcourt on the porous pace of development in the area over many decades, Hon Akaya stated that the call is necessitated to attract investment, federal presence, policy focus, unemployment and private-sector partnerships to end decades of infrastructural neglect in the area.
He maintained that the proposed ‘Oyigbo Development Summit’ would be a convergence of stakeholders, such as, traditional and religious leaders, lawmakers, both past and present, federal and state agencies, oil and gas giants, the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC), development partners, non-governmental organizations, youth groups, the media among others.
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He suggested that the Rivers State Government should support and sponsor the maiden Oyigbo Development Summit under a standing annual calendar.
He stated,” A development blueprint should be launched, post-summit, complete with timelines, goals, and a youth-focused implementation committee. I admonished the government at all levels to invite NNPC, the Federal and State Ministry of Works, IOCs operating in Rivers State, and World Bank liaison offices. There is a need to proactively build a digital diaspora investment dashboard to crowdsource support.”
Hon Akaya further reacted that Oyigbo’s growth has been stunted, despite its massive population, proximity to Port Harcourt, and industrial relevance. He lamented that for decades, the LGA has lacked real state- sponsored infrastructure beyond promises, and politics.
” This is not just a community cry,, it is a strategic rethink of development ownership by the people” he said.
On the assessment of the LGA over the years developmentally, Hon Stanleyson Akaya said that Oyigbo’s problem is not lack of potential, but lack of political will, and elite unity.
Hon Stanleyson Akaya, while noting ways to remedy the situation, urged the state and federal governments, including, other development-driven institutions to set up an Oyigbo Development Consultative Council( ODCC) from the summit outcomes.
The youth leader, however, declared: ” I stand to push for a federal constituency level Oyigbo infrastructure master-plan, launch public-private community-driven projects like digital hubs, skills acquisition centres, and cooperatives.
