By Emma Amaize

WARRI-CONSUL-General of the United States of America in Nigeria, Mr. Joseph Stafford, visited the Niger Delta region, Monday, for the first time since he assumed duty in the country,   saying that America was committed to working with other partners to develop the region.

The Consul-General, who said he was excited to be in the oil city of Warri, Delta State,  disclosed this while exchanging views with the former national chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, HRM, Charles Ayemi-Botu, the Pere of Siembiri Kingdom, Burutu Local Government Area, during a visit to the monarch at his palace annex in Warri.

He said Niger Delta was  important to the US, as major American companies are operating in the region. He said the consulate was interested in forging closer ties with the people of the region with a view to knowing the people, understanding their cultures and problems,  and seek ways of assistance.

Stafford said Nigeria was one of the countries that America has bilateral relations with,  assuring that everything possible would be done to strengthen its bond with Nigeria and Niger Delta in particular.

Welcoming the US top official to his palace, HRM Ayemi-Botu, commended America for its continued interest in the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, particularly its role in the concluded 2011 general elections.

He said that the Niger Delta struggle was caused by marginalization of the people from whose land the country derives oil, its major revenue earner.