NIGERIA: NIGER DELTA GOVERNORS TAP UTOMI TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000509 SIPDIS STATE PASS NSC FOR BOBBY PITTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 TAGS: PGOV EPET ECON KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NIGER DELTA GOVERNORS TAP UTOMI TO SPEARHEAD INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Classified By: Consul General Donna M. Blair for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Governors of the south-south states have chosen Patrick Utomi, Lagos Business School Dean and 2007 presidential candidate, to spearhead an integrated development strategy for the region. With the Governors, Utomi has recruited well-respected business leaders to create public-private partnerships to drive infrastructure development, revive agriculture and find a way to make the region globally competitive. Numerous respected business leaders have been recruited and are engaged, and the Niger Delta Development Commission is providing staff, office space and access to planning documents. That the Niger Delta Governors turned to Utomi, who stands for ethical behavior in government and business, speaks volumes about their determination to develop the region and to do it the right way. Despite Utomi's considerable talents, the quality of the people he has drawn in, and what appears at this early stage to be the full commitment of the Governors, rehabilitating and developing the Niger Delta will be a formidable task. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The six governors of states in the South-South geopolitical zone have asked Lagos Business School Dean and 2007 presidential candidate Patrick Utomi to spearhead an integrated development strategy for the region. Utomi told Pol-Econ Chief December 13 that the Governors met in Yenagoa the week of November 24 and again on December 6 and decided to coordinate their response to the problems of the region. At their initial meeting, Governor Uduaghan told the group he had been consulting with Utomi, which resulted in a unanimous decision to select Utomi to chair the regional effort. Public-Private Partnerships to Power Development -------------- --- ¶3. (C) The Governors have decided to harness the power of the private sector in public-private partnerships, Utomi said; they have been humble enough to say that government cannot develop the region alone. The longterm goal will be to find a way to make the area globally competitive, Utomi said, by reviving agriculture and establishing manufacturing clusters. To develop manufacturing will require electric power, roads and rail transport. The Governors are willing to invest in independent power projects that use locally available coal and gas. They all believe that rail lines linking states within the region to other parts of the country are necessary. They also believe that a network of roads to allow transport of people and goods is essential for development. They envision development of a major cargo port at Bonny to act as an alternative to Lagos port. As for agriculture, the Governors want to revive the rubber and palm plantations that once made Nigeria the source of high quality rubber and palm oil. For both of these commodities, the Governors want to develop the value chain. Utomi anticipates that the strategy will be sufficiently well developed to allow the Governors to make presentations about specifics at a summit to be held in April. Respected Business Leaders Engaged -------------- ¶3. (C) Utomi, who said he had returned early that morning from an all-night meeting and strategy session in Port Harcourt, noted that not only were the State Planning Commissioners from every state fully engaged, some of Nigeria's best business and industrial leaders were in attendance as well. Among the businesspeople working on the project are Atedo Peterside, Chief Executive Officer of International Banking and Trust Company, (IBTC); Anthony Ani, former Finance Minister under Military President Sani Abacha; Harry Kolada (phon),a former World Bank official; Harvard MBA-holder Ebitimi Banigo, Chairman of Allstates Trust Bank and others of that calibre, Utomi said. Initiative Not Dependent on Federal Government -------------- - ¶4. (C) Asked whether the Governors would rely at all on the Federal Government, Utomi said that his goal is to keep the LAGOS 00000509 002 OF 002 Federal Government from being a nuisance. If, for example, the Federal Government were to agree that the states could assume plants under construction pursuant to the Nigerian Independent Power Projects (NIPP),the states might consider taking them on, Utomi hypothesized. One major area in which the Governors will seek interaction with the Federal Government is that of security. The Governors want to establish a regional police force. This force, which must be well trained and adequately paid, will be a source of jobs for Niger Delta youths. The regional police force will allow the responsibility for keeping the peace in the Niger Delta to return to civilian control, Utomi noted. ¶5. (C) Not only does Utomi not see any conflict between the Governors' initiative and the work of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),the NDDC Managing Director, Timi Alaibe, has pledged his full support and cooperation. Alaibe is making office space at the NDDC Secretariat available to the Governors' initiative, is providing Utomi with all of the planning documents developed by the NDDC, and has assigned NDDC staff to work under Utomi. Utomi anticipates that the initiative will draw as well on the work of the Niger Delta Technical Committee. ¶6. (C) Comment: That the Niger Delta Governors turned to Patrick Utomi speaks volumes about their determination to develop the region and to do it the right way. Utomi, whose run for the Presidency in 2007 was derided by some as quixotic, is known for his insistence on ethics in government and in business, and the men he has drawn around him, at least those named above, have the same reputation. Despite Utomi's considerable talents, the quality of the people he has drawn in, and what appears at this early stage to be the full commitment of the Governors, rehabilitating and developing the Niger Delta will be a formidable task. BLAIR