Nigeria Creates Ministry for Niger Delta

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua has created a new ministry for the Niger Delta in a new attempt to contain the conflict in the restive oil-rich region. Yar’Adua said the new ministry will facilitate rapid socio-economic development for the Delta, which has experienced a profusion of militant groups demanding a greater share of oil revenues for the region. The main militant group, MEND, has dismissed the new ministry as “yet another avenue for corruption and political favoritism,” saying it would not resolve the region’s problems. Yar’Adua created the ministry in a cabinet reshuffle that raised the number of ministries from 19 to 28. Some ministries have more than one minister, resulting in a 42-member cabinet. [PE]