Mining consultancy firm WGM heads Niger Delta initiative

Senior social and economic scientist Stephen Roberts, from the independent mineral-consultation firm Watts, Griffis and McOuat, has been invited by the Nigerian government to present ideas for resolving the ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta region.

Despite the area’s abundance of oil and gas resources, the local population lives below the poverty line. The region has experienced an increasingly violent local insurgency as a byproduct of this disparity.

“Conditions in the Delta today are the direct result of over fifty years of failed policies,” said Roberts, during a meeting promoting resolution to the region’s problems. “It would be both unrealistic and potentially counter-productive to believe that a simple quick fix is possible. Peaceful solutions are within reach, but they require the sustained and patient commitment of all the parties involved.”

Organized and funded as a public- private partnership, the Nigerian process, dubbed the “Ogula Intiative,” aims to give a voice to locals — including women and youth — and work towards a more even distribution of the benefits from oil and gas development in the region.

In addition to Roberts, the project team consists of Lois Hooge, WGM associate and former head secretariat of the Whitehorse Mining Initiative and Canadian adviser for the KWAGGA Mining and Minerals Programme; Joe Hinzer, president, WGM; John Gammon, president, John Gammon Associates; and Ikenna Nwosu, CEO of Mooregate, Nigeria.