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The Nigerian Political Transparency Watch (NPTW) has commended the delegates of the Niger-Delta to the National Political Reforms Conference for their walk-out, saying anything short of 25% derivation would be unacceptable to the people of the region.
The Nigerian Political Transparency Watch (NPTW) has commended the delegates of the Niger-Delta to the National Political Reforms Conference for their walk-out, saying anything short of 25% derivation would be unacceptable to the people of the region.
National President of the organisation, Mr. Reason Onya said at a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, that for the delegates to have suggested twenty five per cent derivation was borne out of their love for the unity of the country. According to him, what the people of Niger Delta want is to revert to the 1963 Republican Constitution bequeathed to the nation by its founding fathers which prescribed fifty per cent derivation.
According to him, "it is unfortunate that we are still in a country where the have-nots are dictating to the haves. This has happened for long because of the skewed nature of political power in Nigeria but that will never happen again because the people of the Niger Delta have the ability and capability to decide their fate."
He said there could only be peace in the country if federal government agreed to true fiscal federalism, which would allow each state to have a level of control on her resources.
He said it was unthinkable for a section of Nigeria to think they can use force to suppress others. His words: "The people of Niger-Delta have paid with their blood to reach this level and no level of oppression can suppress the agitation for resource control. But I want other sections of the country to know that Nigeria is bound to make more money from oil only if there is peace but with the way they frustrated Niger-Delta delegates to pull out of the Confab, I am afraid to talk of the consequence."
Onya, however, called on all patriotic Nigerians to wade into the matter and ensure that Niger-Delta people have their fair share in order for peace to reign in the region.