COMMUNITY ACTIVIST/CANDIDATE ON BAYELSA SECURITY &

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001385 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS DOE FOR DAS GPERSON AND CGAY STATE PASS DOT FOR MARAD STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016 TAGS: ASEC ELAB EPET NI PGOV PINR PTER SUBJECT: COMMUNITY ACTIVIST/CANDIDATE ON BAYELSA SECURITY & DEVELOPMENT REF: LAGOS 1076 Classified By: Consul General Brian L. Browne for Reasons 1.4 (D & E) ¶1. (C) Summary. Nalaguo Chris Alagoa, Project Coordinator of the Peace And Security Secretariat (PASS) told Poloff November 13 he hopes to be Paul Orie Wari's running mate in Bayelsa State's 2007 gubernatorial election should Wari obtain the People's Democratic Party (PDP) nomination. Alagoa said state and local government corruption is responsible for Niger Delta violence and will lead to anarchy if not corrected. Alagoa said he is urging oil worker unions, whose members are at risk from Niger Delta violence, to press the government to follow through on development plans. End Summary. -------------- -------------- ORIE WARI, ALAGOA RUNNING QUIET, GRASS ROOTS CAMPAIGN -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Nalaguo Chris Alagoa, project director of the Peace and Security Secretariat (PASS) for the Niger Delta, told Poloff on November 13 he hopes to be Paul Orie Wari's running mate in Bayelsa State's 2007 gubernatorial election should Wari obtain the People's Democratic Party (PDP) nomination. Alagoa told Poloff that he and Orie Wari are not loudly campaigning for the governorship but instead working quietly at the local level. Alagoa believes his one-on-one contact with youths and communities speaks stronger than election campaigning. This is his second political campaign, Alagoa explained. He was a deputy governor candidate in 1999, but his ticket was out-maneuvered by the eventual winner, DSP Alamieyeseigha, he lamented. ¶3. (SBU) Alagoa, who hails from the same Local Government Area (LGA) as Governor Goodluck Jonathan, said he and Orie Wari would continue Governor Jonathan's Bayelsa Partnership Initiative (BPI) if elected. Alagoa proudly added that he and Bill Knight of Pro-Natura International (PNI) were responsible for initiating and promoting the bottom-up approach to development in Bayelsa. Governor Jonathan subsequently adopted the approach in his BPI development strategy, claimed Alagoa. ¶4. (SBU) Alagoa professed to no ill-will with Governor Jonathan taking credit for the Bayelsa Partnership Initiative (BPI). Governor Jonathan relies on PNI to help streamline and implement the BPI's logistics. Alagoa claimed to be proud of this government-NGO collaboration, which he believes will result in successful development efforts in the state. -------------- -------------- GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION WILL LEAD TO ANARCHY IN DELTA -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Local Government Areas (LGAs) and State Government are responsible for the Niger Delta's problems, Alagoa criticized. The failure of government to provide basic services is the cause of poor development. The oil companies are not to blame, Alagoa said passionately. He pointed to the substantial 13 percent share of oil revenues oil producing states receive as adequate to support development goals. Unfortunately, he lamented, government officials have diverted funds from developmental efforts thus forcing local people into violent activities as a way to earn money and make their voices heard. Non-existent and stalled development efforts at the federal, state, and local levels will lead to anarchy, Alagoa warned. -------------- -------------- OIL UNIONS SHOULD ENGAGE GOVERNMENT ON DEVELOPMENT -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) To avoid imminent militarization of the Niger Delta and to stem violence, Alagoa told Poloff he recently challenged the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to work actively for peace LAGOS 00001385 002 OF 002 in the Delta. Alagoa believes the senior and junior staff oil sector unions are in a unique position to pressure government to honor development promises. Increased violence and decreased oil production threaten the oil workers' job security, Alagoa advised. The unions' recent warning strike was the awakening of a self-preservation strategy the unions should follow, Alagoa posited. ¶7. (SBU) The Bayelsa Partnership Initiative (BPI),because it is based on the expressed needs of the community, provides a strong framework for long-term development planning, Alagoa said. However, short-term intervention is needed to minimize current Niger Delta violence. Coordination on this issue is seriously lacking, he asserted. For example, PASS's partner, Our Niger Delta (OND),is working on an early warning system to detect potential crisis points. However, there must be coordination between OND and the public bodies capable of conflict prevention to make the process work. -------------- PASS: NO MONEY TO PURSUE PEACE -------------- ¶8. (C) PASS is failing, Alagoa lamented. PASS, which is composed of the oil producing states (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, and Rivers),Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, military, police, State Security Service (SSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),oil companies, and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, is operating on only 15 percent of the budget it requires. If funding does not increase by December, Alagoa said, PASS will fold. Further weakening PASS is the fact that two of the three NGOs mandated to help achieve peace and security in the Niger Delta, Academic Associates PeaceWorks (AAPW) and Our Niger Delta (OND),only utilize PASS when it suits them. (Note: A third NGO, the International Centre for Reconciliation of Coventry Cathedral, has withdrawn from PASS. End Note.) Despite funding problems, PASS meetings are well attended. Alagoa said all but the Ministry of Petroleum Resources representative usually attend. Alagoa thought President Obasanjo was unaware of, rather than responsible for, the Ministry's truancy. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) Like most Niger Delta development schemes, PASS has done little beyond espouse development goals and roadmaps. Wari and Alagoa, despite the claims of support from Niger Delta youths, have little chance of snatching the PDP gubernatorial nomination from incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. End Comment. ¶10. (U) Biographical Note: Paul Orie Wari was Commissioner of Information for Bayelsa State during the military era. Alagoa said Orie Wari has a background in public relations and served in the Rivers State House of Assembly. End Note. BROWNE