IMMEDIATE past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has called on the Niger Delta region to initiate a roadmap aimed at diversifying the region’s economy, saying that the oil boom has kept the region in poverty.

Orubebe, who spoke on The place of the Ijaws in Nigeria: A Call to Strategic Action, at a seminar organised by the Ijaw Professional Association, IPA, in Lagos, said that it was imperative for leaders of the South South, especially the Ijaw nation, to come up with a roadmap that will create employment for its people.

He said: “Because of oil, we have abandoned what God gave to us. We have people who are naturally fishermen and palm oil tappers. You heard when I spoke about Ogogoro (local gin), which is celebrated in China, but the authorities here are not doing anything to improve on it.”