Posted by From PETRUS OBI, ENUG on
Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, the apex Igbo body has thrown its weight behind the Niger Delta leaders' demand for the enthronement of true federalism as a way out of the crisis in the oil rich region. The Igbo umbrella organization also stated that the short term problems in the Niger Delta could be addressed through a return to 50 per cent derivation.
Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, the apex Igbo body has thrown its weight behind the Niger Delta leaders' demand for the enthronement of true federalism as a way out of the crisis in the oil rich region.
The Igbo umbrella organization also stated that the short term problems in the Niger Delta could be addressed through a return to 50 per cent derivation.
The Ohanaeze who rose from a meeting in Enugu over the weekend, resolved to address a special message of goodwill and solidarity to the people of the Niger Delta who just concluded the two-day 'Legislative Retreat on Constitution Review,' organized by Vanguard Media Limited in Port Harcourt.
The group observed that the Niger Delta had suffered immeasurably from the failure of true federalism in the nation and from inequitable revenue allocation formulae, and suggested that 'short term problems in the Niger Delta could be addressed and ameliorated by a return to 50 per cent derivation.'
The Igbo leaders expressed regrets that the questions of oil and gas had remained the most serious problems of Nigerian economic development and of international energy security.
They called on the Federal Government to recognize the deep yearning of all Nigerians for the fulfilment of the economic and political promise of the nation, adding that the resources and abounding energies of the people were still waiting to be mobilized for the task of national re-construction.
'The coming of the present regime aroused eager hopes for a new beginning. But much of the hope is now turning to anxiety. The nation has everything it takes to move forward; but the creative leap forward would happen only if the leader is devoted totally and visibly to the common purpose,'' the Igbo leaders said.
They affirmed that the on-going consultations for the review of the Federal Constitution was an opportunity for the nation to return to the vision of the founding fathers, which they said, was based on the principles of true federalism in which each region was in full control of its resources and its internal affairs.
'To the extent that the 1999 Constitution is a military enactment, the new constitution must be an opportunity for the sovereign of Nigeria to determine the rules which should underpin and regulate their union,' the Igbo leaders said in their communiqué which was signed by Professor Ben Obumselu, Ohanaeze Research and Publications Directorate.
The organization further re-affirmed that the national electoral supervision agency must be truly independent of the presidency and the political party in power. 'Ohanaeze holds the opinion that the rigging of elections is the most important cause of political instability and that it undermines the responsibility of 'elected' governments to those who elected them. Until our elections are truly free and fair, there can be no change in the perverse structure of our politics,' it stated.
Drawing the attention of the Presidency and the National Assembly to what it described as the continued neglect of the South East in Federal appointments, the allocation of resources and the provision of common services, the Igbo leaders expressed regrets that no action had been taken so far to implement the unanimous resolution of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference to establish the equality of all geo-political zones with regard to the number of states in each zone.