| We're Yet To Reap The Benefits Of GEJ In Power - South-south Leaders Sep 8th 2012, 17:06 The leaders of the South South geopolitical zone had stated the obvious about the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan as the nation's number one citizen and indigene of the zone, stating that it is yet to benefit from his government as "the normal fruits of their son being in power" was yet to get to their door step.
Baring their minds recently at a general meeting held in Warri, Delta state by the South-South Peoples Assembly (SSPA), the people had said that Jonathan was yet to give the South South people the required attention due to the overwhelming national issues. The zone also constituted four committees to come up with the position of the people on the 1999 Constitution Amendment, Petroleum Industry Bill, Bakassi/Boundary Dispute on Oil Wells and Underhand Sale of Oil Blocs by oil multinational, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC
In a joint statement signed by the national leader of the zone and former Federal Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, national chairman and secretary of SSPA, first civilian governor of Edo state, Chief John Odigie –Oyegun, and one-time Commissioner in Bayelsa state, Chief Ayakeme Whisky respectively, the leaders said, "By principle of affirmative action, it owes the people of the South South zone the sacred duty of economic empowerment, especially through the petroleum industry, which derives mainly from the zone with all its attendant hazardous effects".
The statement reads in part: "Contrary to the views of some misguided Nigerians, President Goodluck Jonathan, since his assumption of office, in trying to satisfy the totality of his Nigerian constituency, had not given to the South South zone the normal fruits of their son being in power, such that even the East – West road which is the route for the haulage of heavy duty equipment and petroleum products on daily basis to service the oil and gas industry has not gotten any priority attention".
The zone called on the government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to fast track the completion of the East – West Warri- Port Harcourt-Uyo-Calabar road, which is currently in a messy state, "remediate our badly damaged ecology and environment by fully implementing the report of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta."
The Niger Delta leaders equally pleaded with the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency push for the extension of the October 10, 2012 as the original date set aside for the handing over of the Bakassi to the Cameroon tjust to allow the National Assembly complete its work on the Green Tree Agreement. The leaders, however, resolved, that "to continue to build a united, cohesive and resolute South South family, there was a need to strengthen their "total, unalloyed and irrevocable Support for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, and his government" and as a result passed a vote of confidence on him for "his commitment to putting Nigeria on the path of sustainable growth as clearly noticed in the improved electricity supply in the country". http://newsbytesnow.com/2012/09/08/flash-were-yet-to-eat-the-fruits-of-our-son-being-in-power-south-south-leaders-tell-jonathan/ | |
