•••Says South South Region Suffered Worst Marginalisation Under Buhari,
Accuses Akpabio, Other Appointees From Region Of Keeping Quiet While Fear Of Losing Positions
Ijaw leader and founder of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark, on Tuesday, said the South South zone under President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration suffered the worst form of marginalisation through out the eight years of ineptitude of the government.
Clark while addressing newsmen in Abuja on his open letter to President Bola Tinubu, observed that although the region is the source of the nation’s bulk of the wealth adding that the the region had been left to wallow in total neglect, marginalization and deprivation.
The elder statesman, however, blamed the death of 20 people following a tanker explosion at Koko junction along Warri – Benin Highway in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State on October 1, 2023 on the neglect by the Federal government on the roads in the South South region.
According to him, the incident of Sunday October 1st, was reported to be as a result of a spark from a faulty vehicle, while the persons were busy scooping fuel that spilled from the tanker. But he said, it was beyond what was reported.
“Although this region singularly produces the bulk of the wealth of this country and we see the impact of the natural resource that is daily taken out of our soil here in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and almost every other part of the country, we are left to wallow in this total neglect, marginalisation and deprivation.
“This recent accident at the Koko junction could have been averted if particularly in the past eight years of President Muhammad Buhari government, efforts had been made to look into the state of our roads.” Clark said.
Clark explained that under the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the region suffered the worse neglect.
Clark queried; “October 2021, the federal government approved NNPC’s request to take over the reconstruction of 21 federal roads nationwide, totaling 1,804.6 kilometers at N621.2 billion, under the Federal Government’s Executive Order No 007 of 2019 cited as the companies income tax (Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme) signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“From the information that was made available, in terms of kilometers (length of the roads), the South-South had the least with only 52.2 kilometers. The North Central had 1,479.9 kilometers; North West had; North East had; South-East had 122 kilometers and South-West had 119 kilometers.
“The question we asked at the time was what were the reasons for such an absurd distribution? What was the yardstick?”
The PANDEF leader also reiterated that the former minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola had disclosed that, they had about 13,000 kilometers of roads and bridges under construction and rehabilitation in 856 contracts, comprising 795 projects and aggregate length of 815 kilometers of roads and 733m of bridges.
According to Clark, the only projects listed in the South-South zone were the construction of a two-lane Bridge at the Cameroon-Nigeria Border at Ekok/Mfum, including Approach Roads.
“The critical question, in all of these is, where are the roads and bridges in the South-South zone in the said list of 854 contracts comprising road and bridge projects of the Ministry of Works and Housing?” He queried further.
According to him, “January this year, 2023, the Federal Executive Council at its meeting of January 18, 2023, which was presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, approved another request by NNPC to reconstruct 44 additional roads across Nigeria at N1.9 billion, the East-West road and Benin-Sapele-Warri road were not captured.
“For the federal government to wait until less than a month to the end of its tenure to reportedly approve NNPC’s takeover of the reconstruction of the Benin-Sapele-Warri road is deceitful and insulting.”
Clark, the formost Minister of information under Gen. Yakubu Gowon, expressed sadness that the south-south region had been neglected for eight years resulting in the people dying daily.
He urged Tinubu’s administration to declare emergency on the federal roads in the south south and said urgent steps should be taken to fix the roads in the region that lays the golden egg.
“Maybe as an old man, I should mention that this state of affairs is already leading to a build-up of frustrations among our people and the outcome may not be pleasant to all of us if these situations of things continue as it is. This situation as they say, of robbing Paul to pay Peter may not go on well for too long.
“I am therefore appealing to you as Head of State who has pledged to take the whole country as his constituency to pay attention to our people even when we, as leaders, continue to prevail on them to keep the peace. I trust that an urgent action will be taken as our people are silently saying within their hearts that enough is enough.
“Government is a continuum, and today you are on the saddle. I therefore urge you, as leader of the South-South Region, to reverse this trend of neglect, which is known worldwide. I urge you to break this jinx of resource curse and the pain that our people have borne for decades and stamp your name in history as it pertains to the Niger Delta development”, he said.
The PANDEF leader, described the silence of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and other appointees from the region as shameful and disturbing adding that their quietness was because of fear of losing their positions
“I must speak my mind at all time. I’m very much ashamed and disturbed that our legislators and the National Assembly and other appointees of government including the President of the Senate, believe that whatever they get from the federal government is a favour, from whom?
“From the fellow Nigerians who do not even contribute to a kobo to the revenue of the country? So that’s what we are facing. And our people cannot talk because of the fear of their position and when who are the sufferers? Their own people in the south south. Our people are frustrated.” He said.
