Niger-Delta monarchs warn northern governors on dichotomy bill suit
From Chido Okafor (Warri) and Lawrence Njoku (Enugu)
TRADITIONAL rulers from the nine oil-producing states of the Niger Delta yesterday warned that the fresh law suit instituted by 22 governors in the country against the Federal Government over the on-shore/off-shore oil dichotomy, was capable of threatening Nigeria's corporate existence.
The national executive council of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), after an emergency meeting said they read "with shock and disbelief the recent law suit", describing it as a "grand conspiracy by these governors to take the people (of the Niger-Delta) for another ride".
The national chairman of TROMPCON, His Royal Highness, Pere Charles Ayemi Botu, the monarch of Seimbiri Kingdom, Delta State, who said he was speaking the mind of all the royal fathers in attendance, said the law suit, if not tactically handled, may indeed set in motion a chain of actions that would threaten the unity of Nigeria.
The monarchs condemned the action of the governors in instituting the law suit against the Federal Government on the Abolition Act, stressing that the eventual signing into law of the abrogation act by the President dragged on for a very long time, despite the opposition mounted by the northern states governors.
Said Botu: "The TROMPCON accords tremendous respect for the nation's judiciary and its irrevocable dispensation of justice, hence they cannot be stampeded to take irrational decision that may be deemed to be inimical to the well-being of the people of the Niger Delta region."
The monarchs said it was unfortunate that the 13 per cent derivation fund, which was regarded as pittance was being challenged by "these people who do not wish this country well at this point in time when the new agitation for further increase to 50 per cent is being championed in order to confront headlong the multi-facet problems of environmental pollution, ecological degradation, pervasive poverty ...that have over the years made lives unbearable and unworthy of living".
They thanked President Olusegun Obasanjo for endorsing the abolition of the dichotomy between onshore/offshore production and setting up of the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) so that the Niger-Delta could develop.
In a related development, the Coalition of South-East and South-South Youth Leaders (COSESSYL) has described the suit filed at the Supreme Court by 19 Northern governors and three of their allies from the South-West - asking the apex court to void the Act as a declaration of war against the people of both geo-political regions.
Besides, they also asked the Federal Government to immediately order the withdrawal of troops from the Niger-Delta, saying that the action violated the rights of the citizens just as they also condemned the presence of foreign troops in the region.
In a communique at the end of its special session signed by Chuks Ibegbu (National Chairman) and Mardlin Daniel (National Secretary), COSESSYL also demanded for the immediate convocation of a Sovereign National Conference to determine whether the Nigeria people wished to live together and under what conditions they would like to co-exist.
It reads in part: "We condemn the provoking court suit filed by the 19 Northern governors and three governors of the South-West praying the court to nullify the Act abolishing the on-shore/off-shore dichotomy revenue oil sharing formula. The suit is a declaration of war on the South-South and South-East and our people are ready and able to defend themselves against this act of aggression.
"We view the present state of infrastructural decay in the South-South and South-East regions as a slap on our face and insult on our collective intelligence. The wicked refusal of the Federal Government to dualise the Onitsha-Owerri and Warri-Port Harcourt roads are clear pointers to the value they place on our lives, in spite of the fact that states such as Bayelsa accounts for a large cache of oil. The Nigerian state has refused to develop the state and therefore, heightened political tension, economic, developmental and social dislocation."
Commenting on the police invasion of shrines in Okija, Anambra State, the youths condemned ritual killings in whatever manner and associate themselves with the police investigations into the alleged ritual killings at Ogwugwu Shrine, but however stated that the issue was being over-politicised to portray the Igbos as cannibals.
"There are shrines all over the country. We demand that the investigation and interrogation of the suspects should be carried out with regard to the right to the dignity of the human person", they said.`
