ABUJA — THE disputed Bakassi Peninsula cannot be handed over to Cameroun without a successful amendment of the Constitution to expunge Bakassi as one of the 774 local governments in the country, Mr. Ayi Essien of the House of Representatives has warned.
Speaking in an interview in Abuja, Pastor Essien who represents the area in the House however urged oil producing companies in the area to increase their community development activities to have a greater sense of belonging among the people of the area.
"Well, you see Section 1 (2) of the Constitution states that no part of the country shall be handed over or ceded without meeting the constitutional provisions."
"Bakassi is a local government in Cross River State embedded in the Constitution. They have representation in the three tiers of government, a member in the House of Assembly and they have a Senator and a member in the House of Representatives. So, they are fully represented," the member argued.
"Besides, the constitution has made it very clear, it is not just an executive matter, it must have the blessing of the legislature. It is a very serious constitutional matter, because before you cede any part of the country, embedded in the Constitution, it must go through constitutional provisions, which of course means an amendment and until that is done and all the provisions are met, Bakassi will continue to exist as a local government in Cross River State and one of the 774 local governments in Nigeria until such a time that the National Assembly and the State Assemblies decide to expunge it through a constitutional amendment. If that is not done, whatever steps taken by the government in terms of compliance with the ruling of the ICJ is unconstitutional since the constitution is the law that governs this country."
Hon Ayi Essien reiterated attachment of his people to Bakassi: "The people of Bakassi are not Camerounians, they are Efik speaking people of Cross River State and we are not going to compromise.
We shall never compromise the issue of our birth and place of origin and of our ancestors. Whether Cameroun is interested in oil we are not concerned, but we are interested in the people of Bakassi who are Efiks. We speak the same language and every Efik man all over the world speaks the same language and the people of Bakassi speak that language. The paramount ruler of Bakassi is a member of the Obong of Calabar council."
He nevertheless faulted the oil companies in the implementation of their community development projects. He said that all but one of the oil companies operating in the area had failed to boost development of their area of operation.
"What I know is that the youths are complaining that they are not being empowered. They are not being given employment. They are saying that these companies are exploiting their natural resources and they are not seeing any community development initiatives."
