Port Harcourt—A former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Udengs Eradiri has berated southern governors and southern lawmakers at the national assembly for not protecting the interest of oil-producing communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Responding to a wide range of questions in an interview with thisnigeria.com, the former IYC President chided Southern governors for “picking their cronies” to represent the people in the National Assembly.
According to him, “I am very angry at my people, especially the southern governors and leaders of the party. It is these same governors that hand-picked their cronies to represent the people in the National Assembly.
“When the chips were down, these lawmakers were nowhere to be found because most of them did not understand the reason why they are representing the people.”
Udengs Eradiri accused southern lawmakers of sleeping when their northern counterparts are planning and pushing for what they desire.
“In contrast, lawmakers from the north attend meetings called by their governors and they rub minds on critical issues and adopt strategies on how to implement their plans.
“While our governors and their hand-picked representatives are sleeping. When the northern lawmakers successfully push for what they desire, the southern lawmakers will be crying foul.
“Where were they when critical decisions are being taken? A man who fails to plan, plans to fail,” he stated.
He stressed that southern lawmakers failed during the passage of the PIB, because they are governors’ cronies in the National Assembly and weren’t prepared.
“For me, let the PIB be signed into law, while we look forward to the amendment. You cannot eat your cake and have it. They have failed because they were not even prepared in the first place because they are governors’ cronies.
“We knew all along that a day like this would come. There had been different versions of the bill when it was being debated but what role did our governors play?”
