By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
A peace, environmental, and justice advocate in Delta State, Comrade Mulade Sheriff, PhD, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to extend landmark infrastructural projects to the Niger Delta coastal areas.
Mulade made the call after the Federal Government, through the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, unveiled plans to rehabilitate the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos with a massive allocation of N3.8 trillion.
The activist noted that while he commends the federal government for prioritising the Lagos bridge, similar investments should be made in the Niger Delta, where most of the country’s oil and gas revenues are generated.
He argued that connecting coastal communities such as Warri–Gbaramatu–Escravos, Forcados–Ogulagha, and Ayakoroma–Burutu–Forcados Terminal with bridges and road projects would open up the region to economic growth and infrastructural development.
“If N3.8 trillion can be invested in the Third Mainland Bridge, then what is the fate of the Niger Delta, where the oil and gas revenues funding such projects come from?” Mulade asked.
He stressed that while Lagos has an internally generated revenue base that can sustain development, about 80 percent of the funds for the Third Mainland Bridge project will still come from oil revenues sourced from the Niger Delta.
Mulade, who is the Ibe Serimowei of the Ancient Gbaramatu Kingdom, lamented that despite the presence of critical economic assets like the Escravos and Forcados Terminals in Delta State, the federal government has failed to provide the region with even a single road or bridge to properly link these areas.
He also alleged that non-Ijaw governors in the Niger Delta deliberately neglect coastal communities largely occupied by Ijaws, leaving the people in hardship and poverty while focusing development in upland areas.
According to him, this neglect forces many coastal dwellers to migrate upland in search of education, healthcare, and business opportunities.
Mulade therefore appealed to the Tinubu government to break the cycle of neglect by opening up Niger Delta coastal communities. He said such projects would not only give the people a sense of belonging but also attract investors, create jobs, and unlock the region’s vast economic potential.