A broad spetrum of Deltans has endorsed the community development strategy of Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan in addressing development challenges in the oil-bearing parts of the State.

This much was revealed in the recently unfolded results of the NOI/Gallup polls conducted to gauge the feelings and aspirations of people of the Niger delta on government's efforts at resolving the crisis in the region.

The polls conducted by NOI in conjunction with world-renowned Gallup Polls of the United States, revealed that majority of respondents within the Niger delta and throughout the country preferred direct community efforts to other forms of intervention in resolving the development challenges facing the region.

The report thus endorses the direct interventionist steps of the governor especially through the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and the Special Project Directors scheme whereby supervision of government projects are directly undertaken by community people. Under the DESOPADEC structure, 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation revenue accruing to the state is given to the Commission for direct intervention in the oil-bearing communities.

According to the polls, 34 percent of respondents agreed that new community driven organisations like DESOPADEC and the Special Project Directors scheme are better positioned to address development challenges of the Niger delta. 23 percent and 28 percent favoured coordination of development efforts by other means.

NOI polls adopts an independent approach to conducting empirical research and the views and opinions of survey participants are said to be reported here without any political bias.

The 2009 Niger Delta Survey examined several pertinent issues in the region relating to the economy and society, political administration, corporate interest and oil-producing communities in the region, violence and security, and environment pollution.

The report was presented at a one-day seminar on the Niger Delta Survey last Friday in Abuja to selected stakeholders from government, including ministries of the Niger Delta, Petroleum, Finance and Environment; Parastatals such as NNPC and NDDC; as well as security agencies and oil industry operators.

In attendance among others were the Chief Methodologist for Gallup World Poll and Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Robert Tortora, Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Oma Djebah, and other key stakeholders in the public sector and industry.

In a reaction, Djebah said the polls result is a confirmation of Governor Uduaghan's populist policies since he mounted the saddle of leadership in the State, noting that the state government was committed to uplifting the lives and living conditions of the Niger delta people as well as the environment.

According to the Commissioner, the empowerment of DESOPADEC is a manifestation of the governor's strategy of ensuring peace and security in the State as a priority item on the three-point agenda of the administration.