Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, July 07, 2004.
South-South Reps’ Caucus Disowns Asari Dokubo
By Uchenna Awom
national
assembly
correspondent,
Abuja
The
South-South caucus in the House of Representatives on Tuesday said that it does
not and will not support any rebellion against the Nigerian government and
other interest in the name of agitation against marginalisation and neglect of
the Niger Delta region.
The
position of the lawmakers, who reacted formally to the purported declaration of
full-scale rebellion against the government by the self-styled Niger Delta rebel
leader, Alhaji Dokubo Asari, in Abuja, stem from the fact that rebellion or any
other form of violent resistance would instead of solving the problem of Niger
Delta will rather worsen the situation.
Dokubo,
an Ijaw, was last week reported to have declared a total rebellion against the
Nigerian government until he liberates “his Ijaw Nation” from the
stranglehold of deprivation, oppression and total neglect, and take control of
the “oil-rich’ Ijawland.
But
in a statement on the matter, chairman of the caucus, Dr. Esio Okwong Udoh,
said the declaration of Alhaji Dokubo as a rebel leader was a very unfortunate
development capable of compounding the bad situation, adding that the caucus
believes that to steer Nigeria’s ship of state along the line of true federalism
remains the best political option to solve the problems of neglect,
marginalisation.
The
caucus, he said, identifies with
interventionist agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as
a veritable approach to solving the problem of the people, and called on the
people of the zone to co-operate and make the operations of the agency smooth
and unimpeded.
He
advised the oil multinationals operating in the Niger Delta to change their
attitude and follow government directives on ways to maintain a healthy working
relationship with their host communities.
Meanwhile,
Udoh commended the Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, on his attempt to
address the menacing traffic problems in the Port Harcourt metropolis,
particularly the Port Harcourt-Aba Road, with the construction of the Airport
Road bye-pass linking Aba Road. He called on the Federal Government to come to
the rescue of Odili and other South-South governors, as they could not shoulder
the problems alone.
