ENUGU—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 seeking the reinstatement of the onshore/offshore oil dichotomy as a declaration of war against the people of both geo-political zones.
Besides, they also asked the federal government to immediately order the withdrawal of troops from the Niger Delta saying the deployment of troops to the area violates the rights of the citizens just as they also condemned the presence of foreign troops in the region.
In a communique signed at the end of its special session in Umuahia 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 wish to live together and under what conditions they would like to co-exist.
“We condemn the provoking court suit filed by the 19 Northern governors and 3 governors of the South-West praying the court to nullify the Act abolishing the onshore/offshore 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”.
Continuing, the coalition said: “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, inspite of the fact that state like Bayelsa account for a large chunk of oil. The Nigerian State has refused to develop the state and therefore, heightened political tension, economic development and social dislocation”.
Commenting on police invasion of shrines in Okija, Anambra State, the youths condemned ritual killings in whatever manner and associated themselves with ongoing police investigations into the alleged ritual killings at Ogwugwu Shrine, even as they regretted however that the issue was being over-politicized 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.
The coalition also condemned the continued closure of Slok Airlines and Savannah Bank, describing the reasons adduced for their closure as “not cogent and limited”. “The reasons are at best racist and ethnocist and aimed at weakening the economic base of perceived enemies and vocal champions of causes inimical to the interest of the managers of the Unitary State,” they stated.
