Nairobi/Abuja  - Nigeria is to create a new ministry to oversee the oil-rich Niger Delta, where militant groups have been attacking oil installations and kidnapping expatriate workers, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has announced.

Secretary to Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, said the new ministry, which would have two ministers, would strengthen development in the region and engage youth being blamed for the unrest.

"One will be in charge of... construction of roads, electricity.. the minister of state will take charge of youth empowerment because the Niger Delta has a twin problem of development of youth empowerment," Nigerian online newspaper This Day reported him as saying.

However, human rights' activists told the BBC they believed the new ministry would only add more bureaucracy.

The government set up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2000 with a view to alleviate poverty in the Delta.

Ahmed said that the new ministry would control the NDDC, which has been largely ineffectual and also hit by corruption scandals.

Former NDDC chairman Sam Edem is currently facing charges of embezzling over six million dollars of funds intended for the region.

Militant groups in the Niger Delta say they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor of the region.

The government says they are merely criminal games intent on stealing oil and extorting money.

The unrest has cut oil production by around a fifth since early 2006, helping to push up global oil prices and allowing Angola to surpass Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil exporter. (dpa)