VZCZCXRO0887
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #1391/01 1831056
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021056Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0090
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0414
RUEHCD/AMCONSUL CIUDAD JUAREZ 0415
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 7280
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DOE FOR CAROLYN GAY 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL ENRG NI
SUBJECT: NIGER DELTA:  VP ENGAGES THE DONORS 
 
 
ABUJA 00001391  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET 
DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan 
met with representatives of lead donor agencies on June 27 to 
consult with them regarding the Niger Delta.  The Vice 
President said that stabilizing the Delta is his top 
priority, but offered little in the way of concrete plans or 
programs.  While stressing their commitment to Delta 
development, the donors insisted that their comparative 
advantage was not to bring financial resources but rather to 
give technical advice and other support in order to help the 
states and national government better utilize existing 
resources.  USAID Mission Director highlighted existing U.S. 
assistance efforts in the Delta and encouraged the GON to 
increase transparency in its development programs to build 
citizen confidence.   Dr. Jonathan promised that the dialogue 
between the GON and donors will continue in coming months and 
mentioned the possibility of convening an Ambassadorial 
meeting on the Niger Delta in early July.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U)  Vice President Goodluck Jonathan invited the main 
donor agencies to a June 27 meeting on development in the 
Niger Delta.  He described the meeting as an attempt to 
"engage key donor partners on the Delta."  The country 
directors of USAID, DFID, the World Bank, and UNDP all 
attended the meeting.  The Vice President was accompanied by 
one of his special assistants, Akachukwu Nwankpo.  Dr. 
Jonathan said that stabilizing the Delta is his top priority. 
 He indicated that his intention is to talk to criminal 
elements in the Delta and ask them to put down their weapons 
and work with government to improve conditions in the region. 
 The Vice President asked the donors to continue assisting 
the GON to develop the region, and he stressed the importance 
of employment creation as a way to draw young men out of 
militancy.  He noted, however, that it would be very 
difficult to create sufficient jobs in the short term.  The 
Vice President believes that in the long term, most militants 
would respond to job opportunities, but he acknowledged that 
the few remaining hard core militants would have to be dealt 
with by the security services.  The administration also noted 
the need for additional road contruction in the region, to 
reduce the number of remote, unreachable areas cut off from 
both economic opportunities and the security services. 
Though he admitted that the GON and the state governments 
have a great deal of money at their disposal for development 
projects, Jonathan told the donors that even this money is 
not enough to fund the development needs of the Niger Delta 
region, and he asked the donors to continue to fund projects 
in the region. 
 
¶3.  (U)  USAID Acting Mission Director focused her remarks on 
continuing and strengthening existing structures, such as the 
Gulf of Guinea Energy Security Process, public-private 
partnerships to generate employment, and USAID's ongoing 
partnership with Bayelsa state government.  She emphasized 
the need to determine one common framework for sustainable 
development in the Delta, rather than different arrangements 
with each of the states in the region.  The acting Mission 
Director also asked the Vice President to consider increasing 
transparency of both state and NDDC resources as a way to 
build the confidence of the region's citizens.  She suggested 
that existing USAID programs in the Delta focusing on 
agriculture, finance sector reform, governance/civil society, 
and job training can help to build capacity at the state 
level. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) All the donor agencies stressed that their 
comparative advantage is not to bring additional financial 
resources to the Delta, but rather to give technical advice 
and other support in order to help the states and national 
government better utilize existing resources for development. 
 The Vice President was insistent that the funds held by the 
states and the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) are 
not enough to achieve major projects like road construction, 
electricity generation, water treatment, and purchase of 
marine vessels.  The World Bank said that they would consider 
providing credit for such activities if the current 
administration asked them to do so.  USAID and the other 
 
ABUJA 00001391  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
donors stood firm that they could not bring additional 
financial resources to the Delta at this time. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Though the meeting offered little in the way of 
concrete new plans or programs by the GON to address Niger 
Delta development, the donors were pleased to see that the 
Vice President is dedicated to addressing problems in the 
region.  Both the government and the donors agree on the need 
for employment generation in the region, despite diverging 
views on whether additional donor money is needed for the 
Delta at this time.  Dr. Jonathan promised that this dialogue 
would continue regularly in future and he mentioned that an 
Ambassadorial meeting on the Delta could be convened in early 
July. 
CAMPBELL