Pastor Nature Dumale Kieghe, leader, Ex-agitators in the Niger Delta region, has called for return of investors since peace has returned to the troubled area.

Kieghe said that the investors left following militancy but now pleads for their return to the region to help in the development agenda of the area and the country at large.

Kieghe made the plea on Sunday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital, during a regional peace summit to sensitise people on the need to advance the peace currently enjoyed in the region.

He said that the transformation and character reorientation they received as part of the amnesty scheme, have made them committed as advocates of peace and development.

Kieghe noted that as ex-agitators, who keyed into the vision of the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), they had resolved to work for a new and better Niger Delta.

“It is important to sensitise our people towards a peaceful Niger Delta and create a friendly environment that will attract development, Multinational companies and other foreign investors to the region.

“We, who once carried guns, are now here to preach the message of peace to our people in the region.

“Peace is the only way we can have the developed environment that we dream of. Peace is the only way to attract the multinationals, investors and also be gainfully employed,” Kieghe said.

He maintained that peace remains a vital requirement to attract investors to the region which would in turn create business and job opportunities for the people.

He said: “Companies that have left Niger Delta because of insecurity need to return, this is the purpose for this sensitisation.

“We are blessed with an environment that is supposed to prosper us, we can only enjoy our natural resources if there is a peaceful environment.”

He said that a major setback to the development of the Niger Delta is the absence of proper coordination among key stakeholders.

The ex-agitators also condemned the proliferation of illegal refineries and lamented its adverse effects on development of the area.

He said with the right synergy, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Presidential Amnesty office, could hasten the needed development.

He said beyond hampering the development of the region, illegal refining of petroleum products is life threatening and dangerous to the ecosystem.

The former agitators who are beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty offer also called on interventionist agencies to work together to sustain the peace and ensure development of the region.

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The sensitisation programme commenced in Bayelsa state with 150 Niger Delta youths in attendance and would be held across the nine states of the region to create adequate awareness. (NAN)