Mr. Volker Treichel, World Bank lead economist, Development Economics Operations & Strategy, will speak at a conference organised for local government councils in the Niger Delta region.

The conference, on the theme Re-Energising Local Governance in the Niger Delta Region: Approaches that Work and Deliver, will also have Prof. Pat Utomi, former presidential aspirant and renowned manage-ment expert; Prof. Vincent Anigbogu, DG, Institute for National Transformation, as speakers.

The two-day conference will hold between Novem-ber 29 and 30 in Port Har-court, Rivers State capital.

According to the organi-sers, Early Time News Company Ltd and Initiative for Public Policy Analysis, Lagos, the conference is expected to educate, inspire and drive job creation and entrepreneurship at the grassroots; enlighten administrators from the local councils in the development of partnerships with local com-munities, and in designing and implementation of develop-ment programmes.

Participants include Niger Delta states governors, council chairmen, counci-llors and top level personnel from the local government councils, community lea-ders, and representatives of international development organisations, government and the private sector.

The conference is also expected to identify and address the factors which impact negatively on developmental efforts in the Niger Delta region and highlight the ways and means through which they could be addressed.