THE Bakassi People's General Assembly has dissociated itself from the call for Bakassi Efik indigenes to join other ethnic nationalities of Southern Cameroun to form a new sovereign state.
In a statement yesterday, the group, which is under the leadership of Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, described the call to join Southern Cameroonians to form a new state as a distraction.
The statement, which was signed by Ita-Giwa, emphasised that what is paramount in the minds of Bakassi people is resettlement, not the formation of a sovereign state.
The statement reads in part: "The umbrella organisation for Bakassi Aborigines, Bakassi People's General Assembly under the leadership of Senator Florence Ita-Giwa wishes to dissociate itself from the call for Bakassi Efik indigenes to join other ethnic nationalities of Southern Cameroun to form a new sovereign state as contained in a story published recently in the media."
Ita-Giwa noted that the "General Assembly has consistently called for the relocation and resettlement of the displaced indigenes of Bakassi in the Kwa Island and Day Spring 1 and 2 Islands, which are the only unceded portions of Bakassi land."
She added: "For the avoidance of doubt, we Bakassi indigenes affirm that we are bona fide Nigerians and have no interest in forming a new nation or changing our nationality. We have proof of our nationality in our voters' cards, which were issued to us on Kwa Island as well as Day Spring Islands 1 and 2.
"The Bakassi people take exception to any attempt to frustrate our legitimate demand to be resettled in Kwa Island and Day Spring Islands 1 and 2. We see the call to join Southern Cameroonians to form a new state as a distraction.
"Once again we call on the Federal Government to initiate action to resettle us in the place of our choice which incidentally is part of our ancestral home land.
"We have begun the restructuring of our political institutions and demand that our traditional and economic institutions be restored to us through the resettlement on the islands we have identified as ours and in which we voted en masse for President Good luck Jonathan.
