NIGERIA: BAYELSA GOVERNOR CALLS GGESS EXCELLENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000246 SIPDIS DOE FOR GPERSON,CHAYLOCK TREASURY FOR DFIELDS, AIERONIMO, RHALL DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS DOC FOR 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS STATE PASS USTR FOR USTR AGAMA STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR LFITT, PMARIN STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTERT E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EPET NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: BAYELSA GOVERNOR CALLS GGESS EXCELLENT FORUM FOR DELTA DIALOGUE LAGOS 00000246 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Bayelsa Governor Timipre told Acting Consul General June 17 that he sees the Gulf of GUINEA Energy Security Strategy (GGESS) meetings as an excellent forum in which to discuss the Niger Delta; he wants to open dialogue between Bayelsa State and the United States as well. Silva has plans to boost Bayelsa's electric power generation capacity to 110 megawatts by 2009, to upgrade transmission and distribution systems owned by the State, to establish fish farms based on an Asian model, to purchase an air ambulance to service isolated riverine communities, to provide potable water, and to complete road construction currently underway. In addition, Shell has asked to install a gas gathering facility near Yenagoa. Having won the re-election ordered by the tribunal, Silva, with his preference for a bottom-up approach to a potential summit, and apparently realistic ideas for infrastructure development, delivery of government services and job creation, appears poised to take a leadership role in resolution of the Niger Delta's problems. In a subsequent conversation with the Ambassador on June 20, the Bayelsa Governor lamented the controversy over the niger Delta Summit, noting that he thought it was doomed to failure as consultation with stakeholders had not taken place. He very much sees the GGESS as at least one of the mechanisms that could be used to address development issues. End Summary. Silva: GGESS Good Forum; Wants Bayelsa-U.S. Dialogue -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On June 17, Timipre Silva, Governor of Bayelsa State, called on Acting Consul General at the Consulate. Referring to the proposed Niger Delta Summit, Governor Silva said he did not think the summit, even if it takes place, will amount to much; he had tried to tell Vice President Jonathan as much, but he has not listened, Silva said. The process has been too top down; what is needed is a bottom up approach so that people at the grass roots have the opportunity to say what they want out of the process. (Ambassador Ibrahim) Gambari is not the right person to head up the summit; Ken Saro-Wiwa was not a criminal, and Gambari's remark calling him one simply pits him against the people of the Niger Delta, Silva said. According to the Governor, a key element of a solution to the Niger Delta problem will be for the Federal Government to make a commitment to give the states more than the current 13 percent derivation. The GGESS meetings provide an excellent forum for real dialogue on issues, he said. The Governor hopes for more dialogue between his state and the United States. ¶3. (C) Silva is offended by the CNN portrayal of "everyone in the creeks as a freedom fighter, and the states as kleptocracies". In the Governor's view, fully 60 percent of all activity by so-called "militants" is purely criminal. Work on the dualization of the east-west road linking Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, with Port Harcourt was recently stopped because of "militant" activity; how can anyone say they want development and then disrupt construction of that road, he asked rhetorically. Under Yar'Adua, the military has been quite restrained; recent raids in Edo and Bayelsa States were not on villages, but rather on camps where groups had amassed arms (Septel). States Best Able to Drive Niger Delta Development -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) The states are the government entities best able to drive development in the Niger Delta, Silva told Acting CG. Silva has plans to turn 27 kilometers of a flowing river in Bayelsa State into a series of fish farms, based on a model he saw in an Asian country. The river's natural flow will help avoid the pollution sometimes resulting from fish LAGOS 00000246 002 OF 002 farming, keep the fish healthy and provide some natural food. The Governor also wants to explore the purchase of air ambulances to help get persons in remote locations out of the creeks and into a hospital when necessary. Fully 50 percent of all Bayelsa's natural gas goes by pipeline to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) at Bonny in Rivers State, Silva said. The State is in discussions with Shell, which wants to install a gas gathering facility near Yenagoa. A small gas turbine plant producing less than 30 megawatts provides electricity to Yenagoa and the surrounding villages. Bayelsa owns its own transmission and distribution network, but the equipment needs upgrading. The Governor has purchased a 60 megawatt turbine from Russia, and anticipates the installation of a 20 megawatt turbine in the northern part of the state; together, they will bring total generating capacity in the State to 110 megawatts by 2009. Construction of three major roads, one to each of the State's three Senatorial districts, is underway. Off of each of these major roads, the government is constructing smaller feeder roads. Water in the state is increasingly polluted by oil from spills and vandalization, and the Governor is interested in ways to provide potable water to his people. ¶5. (C) Comment: Unlike Delta State Governor Uduaghan, who is still waiting for the courts to rule on his opponent's appeal of the election tribunal decision striking a challenge to his election, and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who was never elected but installed as Governor by the 2007 decision of the Supreme Court, Governor Silva emerged victorious from the tribunal-ordered re-run of his election in May. The Governor's bottom-up approach to plans for a summit, his plans to deliver basic services and improved infrastructure to support development, and his apparently realistic plans for job creation could make a welcome contribution to resolving the problems of the Niger Delta. Despite Silva's optimism about the GGESS, it remains to be seen whether that forum will evolve into anything beyond an opportunity for grandstanding by Governor-participants. BLAIR