Posted by By Samuel Oyadongha on
THE South-South has vowed not to shift ground on the demand for 25% derivation.
YENAGOA - THE South-South has vowed not to shift ground on the demand for 25% derivation.
Speaking at a consultative meeting of youth leaders of all ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta yesterday in Yenagoa, a delegate to the National Political Reform Conference from Bayelsa State, Chief Francis Doukpolagha decried what he described as the arrogance of the North on the 25% demand of the South-South, warning that unless their demand on resource control was met, they would not return to the confab.
Chief Doukpolagha who condemned the hard-line posture of the North towards the legitimate aspiration of the people of the South-South who before now had stood solidly behind them (North) in the politics of the country said gone were the days when the zone South-South) would be cowed, noting that unless resource control was adopted, Nigeria would continue to drift.
Stressing that the Niger Delta is the only reason why Nigeria is together, he said, 'Nigeria is only one today because of oil money from the Niger Delta. If oil were elsewhere in the country like the North, the story would have been different as they would have opted out of the federation to be on their own."
On the walk-out from the confab, he said it was the spirit of the suffering people of the zone that moved them to spontaneously stage their action when it was discovered that the North was bent on scuttling the zone's demand for equity and justice within the lopsided federation.
"For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the South-South is working together. We have a common focus and the 25% demand is the irreducible minimum we can take and there is no amount of intimidation that can make us to shift ground.
"The South-South is only telling the Nigerian nation that enough is enough. There are solid minerals in other parts of the country, let them develop it. The fear in the North is that if resource control is allowed they will have less to spend in their region.They have refused to develop enterprises that will help improve their lot."